Chapter 29. Encounter

Chapter 29. Encounter

“—And so, Survival Man barely managed to deal with the zombie and return. So, you absolutely must not think you can take down a zombie on your own! Movies and reality are different. I’m sharing this information to tell you how infection happens, not to encourage zombie hunting. Of course, if it’s an emergency, you might have no choice, but I hope all my subscribers can overcome this crisis safely.”

Survival Man continued to issue warnings, recounting how he encountered and dealt with a zombie on his way to the supermarket.

He organized and shared information that we had already discovered.

Zombies are stronger and faster than normal people, they aren’t transmitted through air or blood, scratches and other injuries are fine, but you must never get bitten, and so on.

He claimed he trapped a zombie, restrained it, and then burned its head to finish it off.

However, he warned that it was pure luck for an ordinary person to wield a weapon and neutralize a zombie with a single blow to the head, so no one should attempt it carelessly.

The reason he shared these stories was to provide information for unavoidable situations, emphasizing that the best course of action was always to avoid confrontation safely.

But Seonyoung and I had been fighting zombies since day one.

Of course, looking back now, we were incredibly lucky.

And I understood what Survival Man was saying.

He wasn’t wrong.

Even so, I didn’t feel like we had done anything wrong.

From the beginning, we had exploited the zombies’ weaknesses effectively, and we survived. Now, our combat capabilities were even stronger.

Yet, even Survival Man, who preached caution, hadn’t given up on farming and had survived by taking down zombies.

What was truly the most advantageous way to deal with the current situation?

“—These are the garlic and various seasonings I painstakingly acquired. I’m going to use the remaining meat to make a stew, and my mouth is already watering. Shall we start right away?”

After explaining how he used his Ability and fought zombies, the video seamlessly transitioned into a cooking and eating show.

The video ended with him ravenously eating the deliciously cooked stew and pot rice.

—user1147jonny: First!!!

—dinosaurrrr: Survival Man… I also tried to drive home on the first day, but my car wouldn’t start, and I got stranded ㅠㅠ

—OmNomNomNom: The woman who lives across from us suddenly hasn’t been seen since yesterday… ㅠㅠ

—SquishyChewy: Ugh, our food is almost gone. Will I die if I go out…?

—user5032ming: Monster sighting report. Yesterday, I saw a strange monster that looked like a gorilla climbing walls in the apartment building across the street. Everyone living in apartments, be careful. It climbs through windows!!!

Scrolling through the comments, I could feel the atmosphere growing increasingly bleak.

It seemed food was the biggest problem.

The survivors were isolated, and some were discussing whether it would be better to go out and find something rather than starve to death.

Opinions were sharply divided between those who believed they should hold out and wait for rescue, and those who argued they needed to venture outside.

All sorts of chaotic messages followed the scroll: people listing their locations and begging for help, men looking for women to survive with, and comments asking about the situation in specific areas.

I checked a few more new videos from other MeTubers, but there wasn’t much helpful information.

The comments section was also too negative, and it was difficult to verify the authenticity of the claims.

However, no one seemed to be actively hunting zombies like us yet.

Most people seemed to be holding their breath and staying put.

I turned off MeTube and came out to the living room to find Seonyoung and Gayoung eating ice cream.

The clean interior of the house and the sound of laughter brought a sense of stability.

I wasn’t wrong.

I was just doing my best with the information and circumstances I had.

I needed to keep preparing and growing stronger, consulting with the intelligent Seonyoung.

“Seonyoung, aren’t you going to get a stomachache if you eat like that?”

“Oh, Oppa, you’re out? I didn’t eat much.”

“Thank you, Mister! There’s still a lot of ice cream, but there wasn’t any mint chocolate flavor! It tastes so good eating this after a long time.”

“Oh, uh… I’m glad you like it. Seonyoung, let’s go practice Shield once you’re done eating. You still have some left, right?”

“Yeah, I’m done now. I still have quite a bit of Shield left today.”

“Unnie, I’ll clean up. You two go ahead.”

“Okay, thanks. Oppa, let’s go right away. But are you going to give me a massage again today? My shoulders ache, and my legs feel sore, too. *Hmph*.”

“Hehehe. Alright, I’ll do it even if you don’t make such a pained face, so let’s hurry and go.”

“Whoa, Unnie… Did I mishear that? Why am I getting goosebumps?”

“Gayoung, quiet down!”

Seonyoung tickled Gayoung into submission, then ran off with a flushed face.

She was fine when it was just the two of us, but she must have been embarrassed because Gayoung was there.

Well, I didn’t think much of it, but Seonyoung sometimes showed sensitivity about her age, even asking if she was being too childish, so it was possible.

Does age even matter? To me, she’s just cute.

Anyway, I followed Seonyoung, who was hurrying out, and we left through the Apartment Entrance.

We survived safely today, and a peaceful night was drawing to a close.

“Seonyoung, did you pack everything?”

“Yeah, I don’t think I can carry any more. I think we need to go home once.”

“Let’s do that. Tell me if it gets too heavy.”

The next day.

Today, we set out at dawn.

The midday heat was too intense, so we decided to start earlier.

Right now, we were stopping at another Convenience Store along our established route, farming various ingredients and processed foods.

We passed the building where Minsu was on the way, but perhaps because it was so early, there was no reaction.

We easily dealt with the remaining zombies in the small Convenience Store building.

After clearing buildings at dawn, we could now easily handle fewer than 10 zombies without even needing to discuss it.

Initially, these buildings were divided into several internal sections, so the number of zombies we had to fight at once wasn’t large.

“It’s a bit disappointing. I could carry more, but I only have one Backpack. Seonyoung, is there any way?”

On the way back home, Seonyoung and I discussed ways to carry more items at once.

Even with a single Backpack filled with heavy items, it wasn’t a burden for me.

So, we needed a more efficient way to farm.

“Oppa, you’re becoming less and less human. I’m already struggling with the weight…”

“Well, our Abilities are different, that’s why. Anyway, when we’re on the cleared path, my hands could be a little tied up, so maybe we should carry spare Backpacks.”

“Hmm… Oppa, what about something like a handcart? It wouldn’t make noise, it has a large capacity, and there are no cars on the road anyway.”

“Oh, as expected of Assistant Manager Choi. You’re a fount of ideas!”

“Whoa… ‘Fount of ideas’? What era is that expression from, seriously? *Hehe*.”

“Hey now. You and I are only two years…”

Her fierce glare made me shut my mouth.

A handcart, though…

It would really be great to have one.

Where could I find one?

Any wheeled cart with space to load items would be good, I thought. When we got home, I’d have to look for a nearby junkyard or something.

After returning home and dropping off the farmed items with Gayoung, I told her about the handcart and went back out.

Searching on the map app, there were no junkyards within walking distance, so there was no immediate way to get one.

There was also no guarantee that a junkyard would even have a handcart.

So, for now, it seemed we’d have to diligently search on foot.

Gayoung also said she’d think of a method while organizing the supplies.

We just had to move like ants; what else could we do?

First, we set out again to finish clearing the Convenience Store.

Each of us filled our Backpacks at the Convenience Store and were now returning home along the path we’d traversed at dawn.

“Oh? Oppa! I think I’ve got a good idea.”

“Huh? What, a handcart?”

“Yeah, yeah. Instead of a handcart, you said there was a Bungeoppang Machine inside the tent on our path, right? Like a street stall, or what should I call it? A cargo cart? No, should I call it a Bungeoppang Cart?”

“Ah, right! That’s it. It was like a wheeled cargo cart with a Bungeoppang Machine on top. Let’s go check it out quickly. It might actually be usable!”

We quickened our pace and arrived at the road in front of the apartment complex.

Inside the green tent where Minsu had been hiding before, a Bungeoppang Cart remained, perhaps left behind after winter sales couldn’t be packed up.

Seonyoung and I lifted the tent and went inside to examine it.

“Hmph! How about it, Oppa? We can use this, right?”

“Wow, as expected of Assistant Manager Choi Seonyoung! This is amazing! It’s big, and it has wheels.”

“You can praise me more. *Hehe*.”

“Choi Seonyoung! Choi Seonyoung! Choi Seonyoung!”

After examining the Bungeoppang Cart and realizing it was perfectly usable, both of us were incredibly excited.

I clapped in rhythm, praising Seonyoung repeatedly.

I genuinely decided that from now on, whenever I had a problem, I would tell Seonyoung everything first.

“Then, shall we pull it out and organize it? We don’t need the machines on top. Ah, but looking at this makes me want Bungeoppang…”

“*Hehe*. Then let’s just pull the whole thing as is. Maybe we can even try making some ourselves.”

“Ahem. Team Leader Kim. Then put some muscle into it!”

Seonyoung, full of excitement, and I removed the tent.

The Bungeoppang Cart had four poles supporting the tent, but they were detachable. I pulled them straight up, easily separating the tent.

A horizontal metal bar, like a handle, was attached to one side of the cart, so I stood there.

How much would this weigh?

Looking closely, it seemed it could be connected to a car for transport, or pushed by a person.

I took the protruding bar on one side as a handle and pushed.

*Clank, rattle, rattle*

“Ah… Oppa. There’s a lock on the wheel.”

“Damn it…”

A chain lock was wrapped around one of the cart’s wheels.

This is a bust.