Chapter 22. Adaptation

Chapter 22. Adaptation

I checked the space that had been hidden behind the Partition.

Following the sound, I looked down at the floor, and my tension immediately eased.

On the floor, a female Zombie was pinned under a large copier. It looked as if someone had deliberately pressed it down, with a large desk leaning diagonally on top of the copier.

The Zombie had only one arm sticking out, constantly scratching the floor and letting out grotesque shrieks. It was thrashing its body frantically, but it seemed unable to escape.

I easily dealt with the immobilized Zombie.

“Oh, I just remembered. You know that Minsu guy from earlier? I heard about him from a junior colleague in the support team.”

“Really? Could you tell me more about it when we rest later?”

Seonyoung, after dispatching the Zombie, suddenly recalled something and brought up Minsu. Regardless of what kind of person he was, I had no intention of teaming up with him. Even if he had a good reputation, I still felt uneasy about traveling with anyone. Still, knowing what kind of person he originally was might be useful.

After clearing the third floor, we went up to the fourth. The room on the fourth floor was divided into two spaces. Opening the entrance door led to a pantry/lounge area first, with a conference room further inside. Two Zombies were trapped inside the conference room. I opened the door, went in alone, smashed their heads, and then headed for the Rooftop.

Climbing the stairs, we found the Rooftop door propped open with a fire extinguisher. As noon approached, the scorching sunlight felt intense. An ashtray was placed on one side, and two wooden benches were installed. It seemed like a spot where people frequently came up to smoke.

“Looks like everything’s cleared here, right?”

“Seems so. Oppa, we’re eating before we go, aren’t we?”

“Yeah, let’s. I’m suddenly hungry. Go down to the pantry first. I’ll just have one smoke and then come down.”

Seonyoung went down first, and I surveyed the direction we came from, leaning on a Rooftop railing. There was no movement visible on the road, including the tent where Minsu had been. Turning my gaze towards the apartment complex and looking into the distance, only the slowly drifting clouds made me feel the passage of time.

While smoking, I observed the apartment complex we had departed from. I scanned mainly the houses whose windows weren’t covered. I could see movement in a few houses.

‘That house has people. Hmm… that one has Zombies.’

It was strange how I could now naturally distinguish between Zombies and people. Even though it wasn’t a short distance, and the apartment complex was quite far. My eyesight had always been good, but recently, perhaps due to the influence of my abilities, it seemed to have improved even further. And after facing Zombies a few times, I could now somewhat differentiate them just by their movements. Fighting four or five of them at once was manageable. I realized I had adapted quite well to the current situation.

I went down to the pantry. Seonyoung had set out rice balls and drinks on the small table in front of the sofa and was waiting.

“Oppa, hurry up. I’m hungry now.”

“Why didn’t you start without me? Huh? Where did you get the drinks?”

“They were in the fridge here. There’s a coffee machine and beans too, so let’s have a cup of coffee after we eat.”

“Oh, nice. Let’s take off our Raincoats while we eat. Just for a bit of comfort during lunch.”

We put down our Backpacks and ate lunch together. Fortunately, there were plates, so we avoided the unfortunate situation of eating rice balls straight from the bag. When Seonyoung packed the rice balls, saying we’d eat outside, it brought back a sudden memory of military rations, making me flinch. Rice balls are a common Lunchbox item, but seeing them in a ziploc bag inevitably reminded me of the military.

“That Minsu guy… she used to grumble about him being incredibly lazy and slippery.”

As we ate and chatted, the conversation naturally turned to Minsu. Seonyoung said she remembered a close junior colleague from the support team complaining about him.

“Oh, I never talked behind anyone’s back. I just listened to her story while we were drinking.”

According to Seonyoung’s story, Minsu seemed to have no ambition whatsoever for a full-time position. He apparently slacked off, constantly watched others, and was generally unhelpful. For example, Minsu would often leave his seat under the pretext of making copies when he was supposed to be preparing for meetings. He wouldn’t just make copies and return; he’d also have a cigarette with a manager from another team and take his sweet time in the Restroom.

“She was the youngest on that team, besides Minsu. So she must have been really annoyed.”

She also felt more stressed by Minsu’s tendency to act charmingly towards his superiors to curry favor. No matter how much he tried to manage his image like that, those who knew would quickly see through it. Still, from the perspective of someone working with him, it must have been incredibly frustrating.

“Assistant Manager Kim there is my peer. He’s not an easygoing person, but maybe because Minsu’s contract was only for six months, he just let it slide.”

“You know Assistant Manager Kim, right? The one who’s always smiling. Was he twenty-nine? Were you close?”

“Just moderately, since we’re peers? Wait, he was always smiling? No, he wasn’t. He always had a frown.”

“Really? When I’d run into him while smoking, he was always so friendly… and he’d even offer me candy?”

“Wow… so there was a real fox among us. Anyway, that Minsu guy seemed a bit clumsy at it.”

We finished our meal, chatting about various stories from the company. I took a cup of coffee Seonyoung had made and went back up to the Rooftop. I couldn’t resist a post-meal smoke. While smoking, I now surveyed the direction we were heading. From now on, every block would have commercial buildings and many alleyways, which would likely slow our movement considerably. Across one block, there was a tall building obstructing our view. It was a broadcasting station building, and whether we could pass through that area safely was the crucial question.

‘If this is the case, I’ll need to adjust our plan a bit.’

From the Rooftop, I looked down at the road and narrow alleyways, spotting Zombies standing here and there. Until now, we had encountered almost no Zombies on the main roads. It seemed the population density here was much higher than in the apartment complex area. Naturally, the number of Zombies would also be much greater.

“Seonyoung, let’s go with Plan B. I took a quick look from the Rooftop, and it seems like it’s going to be pretty tough.”

“Alright. But… were there A and B plans? Is there a C too?”

“Haha… I just felt like I had to say it that way.”

“Oh, I see… It makes sense that there would be a lot of Zombies here, given it’s a commercial district. That’s why, right?”

Seonyoung quickly understood my intention.

“If we try to clear everything out, it’ll take too long. First, let’s just clear a path and focus on Farming. We’ll grab supplies first, then come back and clear out buildings as we go. That’s Plan B. Okay?”

“Yes~ Understood, Captain.”

I wanted to move as safely as possible, but others would likely be on the move too, so we needed to hurry. Facing a Zombie for the first time is terrifying, but after a few encounters, you start to get the hang of it. Those with courage would adapt quickly.

“Oh, right. Oppa, look at this. I’ll show you something cool.”

As we finished tidying up and prepared to leave, Seonyoung, with a proud expression, asked me to wait a moment. Then she grabbed her Baseball Bat, which had several cute stickers on its handle, and looked at me.

The Baseball Bat swung suddenly.

I flinched. *Thwack!*

Seonyoung swung the Baseball Bat at me. I instinctively flinched. The Baseball Bat, swung towards my torso, stopped mid-air with a dull thud. Looking closely, an opaque, rod-like shape was blocking the Baseball Bat Seonyoung had swung.

“You startled me! What is this? It looks like some kind of rod.”

“That’s a Shield too. When I tried to use Acquired before we ate, something new appeared.”

* Creation: Shield

* Increased Durability (10), Range Increase (2)

* Acquired: 0

Seonyoung informed me of her newly acquired ability. Range Increase had been added. But that wasn’t all. By investing in Acquired, the number of times she could create a Shield had increased, and she told me to test its durability now.

“Does Range Increase mean the range is extended?”

“Yeah. Right now, it seems to be about 3 meters. But the funny thing is, ‘range’ refers to both the distance and the Shield’s area getting larger. Did you notice I made a square Shield next to you earlier?”

“What? Then why did you keep making it round?”

“Just without thinking much? Anyway, it forms into whatever shape I imagine, but it’s a bit difficult. Round is the easiest, and simple shapes like squares or triangles are also fine. Just now, I tried to make it Baseball Bat-shaped, but it just came out as a rod.”

“So, does Range Increase also include the concept of increasing the total area you can create with a Shield? It seems you can make any possible shape within that area, then?”

“I’m thinking that too, for now… but I feel like there might be some aspects I’m still missing. It’s a bit frustrating because I want to experiment, but I can’t right now. It’s like I don’t even understand my own feelings?”

Just from what we’ve discovered so far, the utility of the Shield has greatly increased. Its versatility had skyrocketed. Its durability had definitely increased a lot too. Unfortunately, I stopped after hitting the Shield a few times, fearing the Baseball Bat might break, so I couldn’t get an exact measurement. I even tried punching it with my fist, but Seonyoung’s Shield remained unyielding, not even budging.

‘How is it fixed in empty air like that?’

I couldn’t tell. All I could say was that it was mysterious. As expected, abilities always had an alien quality to them.

“Oppa, watch me! Ah!”

*Thud!*

After I stopped testing the Shield’s durability, Seonyoung stepped onto the rod-shaped Shield. She wobbled for a moment, trying to balance, then promptly fell to the floor. The Shield must have suddenly disappeared, causing her to lose her landing.

“Are you okay? You’re not hurt, are you?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. I knew it would disappear, but it was higher than I thought.”

Seonyoung said she felt the Shield’s duration decrease every time I hit it. Just now, she roughly knew when it would disappear, but she lost her balance and fell. Just as I was learning and understanding my abilities, Seonyoung was also figuring out her Shield. She said it felt like getting used to a new sense in her body.

“Then, when we get back, let’s experiment and practice as much as we can before bed. I’ll help you.”

“That would be great! I should practice every night before bed. I wonder how much I can do today.”

She seemed really happy that her ability was developing. It was obvious, but I was worried about her stamina. If she pushed her Shield to its limits during practice, she might injure herself. Judging by her current demeanor, she looked ready to experiment until she collapsed, even if it meant getting a nosebleed.