Chapter 33. Client

Chapter 33. Client

Leaving the various items we had farmed on the old trolley, I went into the supply room to retrieve a new Camping Trolley. This one was also foldable. Seonyoung decided she would pull it, and we exited the building.

As we left, I saw the two men seemed to be changing clothes on the second floor, while Director Kim paced back and forth on the first floor, seemingly deep in thought.

“Oppa, but where are we going to get food? Are you going back home?”

“No, let’s try to raid a Convenience Store. There are so many of them in this neighborhood.”

We had already farmed all the Convenience Stores along our previous routes, but if we just crossed the road to an unexplored block, we’d find another one. This time, our plan was to head straight down the road towards that Convenience Store, instead of turning left towards the Pharmacy.

We passed by buildings we’d ignored yesterday and ventured a little further in, finding a rather large Convenience Store on the first floor. Looking through the glass window, I saw many display shelves and even three tables set up for customers to eat. The strange thing was the noticeable amount of bloodstains, yet no Zombies were in sight.

“Wow… Seonyoung, looks like someone already farmed this place.”

“Yeah, it does. Seems like there are other people besides us out there, fighting Zombies.”

“I mean, I figured other people would be fighting Zombies too, but it’s the first time I’ve seen a Convenience Store without any, so it feels a bit… unfamiliar.”

Even though the Convenience Store had already been cleared of Zombies, a quick look around showed that not all the supplies had been taken. Even a small Convenience Store holds a surprising amount of goods if you consider moving everything, and this one was quite large, so there was still plenty left. To thoroughly check the Convenience Store’s Supply Room, we headed inside.

*Knock, knock, knock.*

“Oppa, I’ll open it.”

We waited briefly after knocking, but heard nothing; it was silent. Assuming there were no remaining Zombies, I stepped aside for Seonyoung.

*Click.*

*Ugh.*

Just in case, I raised my baseball bat, ready, but Seonyoung, who had just opened the Supply Room door, froze solid. She remained motionless in the posture of opening the door for a moment, then slammed it shut and covered her mouth with her hand. She wasn’t easily startled like that anymore, so what could she have seen? Since there didn’t seem to be any Zombies, I pulled over a chair, had Seonyoung sit down, and let her rest for a bit. I wanted to open the door and check myself, but Seonyoung’s eyes clearly told me not to. So, I grabbed a Water Bottle from the refrigerator and sat beside her.

“Feeling better now?”

“Y-yeah. It might not be a big deal, but it was just so sickening for a moment.”

“Was there a rotten corpse in the Supply Room or something?”

“Yes, exactly. But all the limbs were separated and scattered…”

“Ah, someone must have fought a Zombie there, and that’s how it ended up. It’s usually hard to just smash their heads, right?”

“No, Oppa, that’s not it. I saw five heads, you know? And they were all neatly arranged: five heads in one pile, five torsos next to them, five left arms, and so on. It wasn’t just that someone dealt with Zombies and tossed them into the Supply Room; they meticulously dismembered them all and gathered them by body part! Is this some kind of psychopath?”

“Huh? That’s a bit strange. I need to see it for myself.”

When I opened the Supply Room door, I saw exactly what Seonyoung described: dismembered corpses neatly arranged by body part. I stepped inside and examined them closely. The cuts were clean, as if made by something incredibly sharp, all in one go. Human bones are quite tough, so seeing them cut through suggests the use of an Ability. I looked around the Supply Room for any other clues, but found no other traces or peculiar details.

Whether the person who cleared this Convenience Store was one individual or a group, all I could ascertain was that at least one person possessed an Ability with extremely high lethality.

“Oppa. But I don’t think it was multiple people. They didn’t farm much.”

“There’s a lot left, but… maybe they only took a little, planning to come back later?”

“Even so, if there were many people, even if each person only took a little, they would have taken more than this. I’m just guessing, but I don’t think there were more than five people, no matter how many. Well, there are so many variables, so I can’t be sure…”

“You’re right. Then, should we quickly farm what we can and leave? It might be awkward if we linger and run into them.”

“Yeah, let’s hurry. We don’t want to get into a fight if we meet them.”

After discussing it with Seonyoung, we decided to quickly farm the current Convenience Store and head back. Lingering here might lead to a confrontation with the survivor or group who cleared this place. On the other hand, searching for another location would waste time, and we might end up encountering other survivors elsewhere while trying to avoid these ones. There was also no guarantee that other Convenience Stores in this area would be “new.”

Calling them “new” felt a bit strange, but in a world half-ruined like this, only seeking out Convenience Stores that hadn’t been cleared of Zombies yet was a pointless attitude. So, we concluded that we shouldn’t overthink it and just finish farming as quickly as possible, then leave. No matter how complicated our other thoughts became, they were ultimately just our own, so we decided to continue moving with a focus on achieving our objectives.

*Drrr.*

It took less than ten minutes to fill the Camping Trolley, and we were now on our way back to the Hana Trade Building. In our haste, we stacked things haphazardly, wasting some space, but even so, this should be enough for three people to last five days. We grabbed bundles of water, Hetbahn, cup rice, Kimchi, canned goods, Ramen, Snacks, and anything else edible we could see.

“But it’s making quite a noise, isn’t it? I thought the rubber wheels would make it quiet.”

“Since it’s foldable, it probably makes noise from the joints, and the items inside are shifting around too.”

“Oppa, with this much noise, the Zombies on the street will definitely react, right?”

“Oh, they’ll definitely react. Look, Manager Lee and Assistant Manager Jeon are out there.”

As we approached the Hana Trade Building, we saw the two men standing at the entrance, smoking Cigarettes. It had taken about an hour to raid the new Convenience Store, so they must have finished their preparations by now. If I had known Assistant Manager Jeon smoked, I would have grabbed some Cigarettes too. Seeing them approach, I gestured for them to go inside, then parked the Camping Trolley beside the building.

Seonyoung and I went in to find Manager Lee and Assistant Manager Jeon standing by the stairs, wearing bulging Backpacks. Director Kim, having changed into hiking gear, was still picking things out inside the store.

“Director Kim. Do you still have a lot to pack?”

“Ah, you’re back. I just don’t know how much to take.”

“Director, Assistant Manager Jeon and I have already packed most of the urgent necessities. We should move before it gets dark, so please get ready to leave.”

“Alright. I’ll go for now. I’ll let you know if I need anything later.”

Director Kim’s initial impression, and his current demeanor, still carried an air of arrogance. I wasn’t sure if he thought he was superior or if it was simply because he was always in a position to order others around. I noticed Manager Lee was holding a small Backpack. It was probably Director Kim’s bag, but it was less than half the size of the two men’s Backpacks. It seemed Manager Lee and Assistant Manager Jeon were still acting as Director Kim’s attendants, and I wondered how long that dynamic would last. I was curious about the contents of each of their bags.

I explained that it would be good for each person to pack a Survival Bag in case of unforeseen circumstances, and I also distributed the Emergency Medicine I had. However, if I were to open those three people’s bags, I had a feeling Director Kim’s Backpack wouldn’t serve as a Survival Bag at all. Well, how they prepared and how they survived was none of my business. Since all three seemed ready, I just needed to explain the formation and we could depart immediately.

“Seonyoung will lead the way. I’ll pull our Camping Trolley, and the three of you will follow behind me, taking care of the other Camping Trolley outside. We’re heading to an Officetel building nearby. Let’s maintain a distance of about three meters as we move.”

“Sir, are there any other precautions?”

“No, I’ve already cleared all the Zombies on the way, so you don’t need to be too nervous. Still, nothing is absolute, so as I told you earlier, the three of you should keep a sharp lookout and focus on any sounds you hear.”

Pulling our Camping Trolley, laden with various supplies, I exited the building first. It felt much heavier than the food-filled Camping Trolley, and the constant strained creaking sounds made me uneasy. Soon after, the Hana Trade group came out and gathered around the food Camping Trolley, beginning to rummage through its contents.

“Let’s move. We can divide the food later.”

The target Officetel building was about halfway between the Hana Trade Building and the four-story building where Minsu was. There were no Zombies on the way, and the distance was less than 200 meters, so we arrived quickly. Unlike when just the two of us walked, there were more people and the sound of the Camping Trolley, making me think a Zombie we hadn’t dealt with might appear from somewhere, but nothing happened.

The Officetel building we arrived at looked residential from the outside, but we had only passed by it before, so I didn’t know the internal situation well. On the first floor, there was a Parking Lot for about eight cars, and to one side, an Elevator and a glass automatic door. The Elevator required a password, and the automatic door also needed a password to enter the building and use the stairs.

“This is the Officetel building I mentioned. First, we need to find a way to get inside. Director Kim, can you use your Ability to check for Zombies or survivors?”

“Yes, just a moment. Hmm… Oh? There’s one survivor. It looks like there are eleven Zombies, but I’m not certain.”

“Oh, then can you also tell which floor the survivor is on? If so, we might not have to break down the door.”

“The survivor is on the fourth floor. Somewhere in the middle of the fourth floor.”

Originally, I had planned to climb the wall and secure a unit with an open window. After that, I would break the glass door and let the others in, but if there was a survivor, the situation changed. The problem was how to get cooperation from the survivor on the fourth floor…

“Is there a good way to ask for cooperation from the survivor in the building?”

There was no need to ponder alone. I looked around at Seonyoung and the three Hana Trade employees, asking for their opinions.