Chapter 35. Routine

Chapter 35. Routine

In a corner of the Apartment Complex, there was a large Recycling Area.

I came out after the sun had set and darkness had fallen, but the light spilling from various windows and the streetlights made it easy to find my way without getting lost.

There were no Zombies, just some accumulated trash.

I gathered all the sorted recyclable waste and the garbage bags filled with general waste to one side, then headed back to the apartment.

I started making trips back and forth to the Recycling Area, carrying the Zombie Corpses I’d dealt with earlier in a large Pole Bag.

I wasn’t sure how long it typically took for a body to decompose, but the Zombie Corpses I’d seen so far were decaying at an unusually rapid pace.

While the gruesome sight of dismembered and crushed bodies had become familiar, the smell of decay and the swarms of insects still hadn’t.

It was still difficult to witness bodies that went beyond mere mutilation, swelling up, oozing strange liquids, and turning black.

But on top of that, the sight of flies clinging to them and maggots writhing was so intensely repulsive that I couldn’t bear it.

The corpses left in the apartment had been swarming with insects in just half a day.

When I first entered the house, the stench was so overwhelming that even with an extra layer of cloth over my mask, the foul odor pierced through.

The indescribably nauseating smell felt like a warning, urging me to escape immediately.

“Oppa, is that the last one?”

“Yeah, this is the last. Don’t come too close, I still can’t get used to the smell…”

“Then what should we do with this? I found some Soju and Dried Pollock.”

“Just take it back inside. I’ve changed my mind.”

“Okay, then be careful.”

Seonyoung, holding the Soju and Dried Pollock in her hands, went back into the house.

Alone, I carried the bag of corpses towards the Recycling Area.

Initially, I had thought about gathering the bodies and holding a small memorial.

I even considered cleaning up the Recycling Area as best as I could.

I wasn’t religious, nor had I ever deeply contemplated the afterlife or the human soul.

It was simply a feeling of pity, a kind of sympathy for those who had turned into Zombies and passed on, making me want to offer them a small comfort.

So, I had told Seonyoung and Gayoung to look for things like sake or fruit.

As we dispersed to do our respective tasks, Seonyoung followed me and said one thing.

That I hadn’t killed people, but dealt with monsters.

And that I shouldn’t forget it.

I knew. I’d had similar thoughts before and had already come to terms with it myself.

Yet, facing Zombies that still retained their human form, a corner of my mind must have still considered the Zombie Corpses as human bodies.

Now, were the unmoving Zombie Corpses the bodies of once-living people, or were they the remains of entirely different monsters—Zombies?

It was difficult to give a clear answer.

So, as I moved the corpses, I decided it would be better not to go through with my initial plan.

After gathering all the Zombie Corpses in one place, I returned to the apartment and lit a cigarette.

With no one around, I could smoke on the street without worrying about others.

I wanted to go back quickly and wash myself thoroughly.

It felt like insects were crawling all over my body.

As I walked, I solidified my final thought.

What I moved were the remains of Zombies, not human corpses.

The person they once were no longer existed in this world, and catching Zombies itself would be a form of solace for the deceased.

I wouldn’t dwell on anything beyond that.

It seemed like the right way to think, both practically and for everyone’s mental health.

No one would say otherwise, anyway.

“Wow! Mister, what’s with the chicken? Awesome! Tonight, we feast on chicken!”

“I cleared out the building where that chicken place was. Found it in the freezer. The building next door is a Starbucks, by the way. I’ll bring back coffee beans in the afternoon. Look forward to it.”

“Oh~ Oppa, why so confident? What if the cafe’s already been looted?”

“I already checked when I passed by earlier. There are at least four Zombies inside.”

It had been over ten days since the three of us started living together in the apartment.

During that time, we had gradually expanded our farming area, and now the walking distance alone was nearly 1km round trip.

Since meeting the Hana Trade people—our Clients—last week, we hadn’t encountered any new survivors.

The Clients, along with the woman who had been living in the Officetel, had formed a group of four and started going out to farm.

Yesterday, they contacted us, saying they had successfully cleared a Convenience Store for the first time.

Suddenly, I was reminded of the RPG games I used to play.

I pictured Newbies successfully completing their first Party Hunt, excitedly sending messages.

A four-person Client party, huh…

“Oppa, what are you going to do after lunch? Are there only about five floors left?”

“Yeah, we’ll go up. Tell me if you’re tired, it’s fine.”

“No, it’s nothing once you use Shield and come down.”

After lunch, the apartment clearing, which we did in the middle of the day, had only the top five floors remaining.

It was surprisingly fun to gradually increase my Acquired stat.

Once, while checking a lower floor, there was a house with a locked Balcony window.

I didn’t want to just pass it by, and while I was contemplating how to open it, the woman inside came out to the living room, made eye contact with me, and fainted.

After that, I assumed houses with locked windows had survivors and skipped them, and before I knew it, I was almost done clearing.

As the floors to be cleared got higher, it took a lot of time to move around wearing a Safety Rope, but Seonyoung said she had a good idea and started helping, reducing our break times.

The method involved using Shield.

First, we would go up the stairs to the floor that needed clearing, open a window, and Seonyoung would create a small Shield outside the window.

As Seonyoung started making the Shield shape more intricate than before, she created grooves to attach the rope.

I would wrap the Safety Rope around it and connect it to my body with a Carabiner.

Then, I could step out the window, step on the Shield, and lightly jump to comfortably move to the Balcony of the house I needed to clear.

Of course, someone with a fear of heights wouldn’t be able to do it.

Once I entered through the Balcony, Seonyoung would deactivate the Shield and go down.

She said she could now use Shield quite a few times, so creating a small one wasn’t a burden.

After that, I would just hook the rope to a Fire Hook and extend its length, moving straight up to the higher floors.

Honestly, unless the Balcony railing suddenly broke off, I didn’t think there would be any chance of falling, but Seonyoung was worried about even a one-in-a-million chance and made me promise to always use the Safety Rope.

“Unnie. Can you take a look at this after you get back? What I’ve organized?”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“I tried to calculate how many days’ worth of food we have. But I’m not sure if I did it right. I roughly know how much we eat in a day now.”

“Gayoung prepares all the meals these days, so she’d be much more accurate than me, wouldn’t she? Still, let’s take a look together when I get back.”

It seemed like our individual roles were being defined, and a daily routine was forming.

We would wake up in the early morning, eat the breakfast Gayoung prepared, and then Seonyoung and I would pull the Trolley out for morning farming.

We’d return before noon, eat lunch together, and while I cleared the apartment, Seonyoung would rest or help Gayoung a little.

After 3 PM, we would go out for afternoon farming as soon as we were ready, usually returning home between 7 or 8 PM.

As the farming range expanded, the walking time increased, but thankfully, we had the Trolley.

While we were out, Gayoung started living like a Cook Soldier at home, preparing meals and catching up on sleep.

In the evenings, we would all take a walk, visiting the houses where Zombies had been dealt with during the day to collect any remaining supplies.

For now, the food in each house’s refrigerator was still edible, but in a little more time, we would only be able to eat long-lasting foods.

So, I was freezing everything I could, but it was clear there were limits, which made me worry about the future.

At night, we rested completely, and this was usually when I bothered Seonyoung.

Lately, my stamina had become ridiculously strong, making me feel like I was back in my mid-teens.

Like in childhood, when I’d get an erection out of nowhere even just sitting still, the difference was that I didn’t have to deal with it alone anymore.

My desires had grown so strong that I clung to Seonyoung every night.

I was truly living more and more like an animal; once, I even penetrated Seonyoung while she was napping during the day.

She didn’t get angry, but the problem was that Seonyoung, who was tormented every night, was finding it increasingly difficult.

She said her lower body was chafed and sensitive, causing pain, and she was physically exhausted…

The problem was that I didn’t want to suppress the growing desires that came with my increased stamina.

Was this some kind of situation where humans’ reproductive urges increase when they are in a crisis?

It wasn’t that I couldn’t control it; my desire for sex had simply increased.

It got to the point where I even considered going farming alone and telling Seonyoung to stay home.

Of course, that wouldn’t solve the problem, and I felt like I was treating Seonyoung like an adult toy, so I didn’t voice that thought.

“Oppa, Gayoung said we still have plenty of coffee, so we can clear Zone A first.”

“Oh really? Then we’re finally finishing Zone A today. No, wait, I just remembered the J Broadcasting Station is there.”

“Ah, we should exclude that as a special zone. I can’t even imagine tackling it.”

After lunch, as I was finishing my cigarette outside, Seonyoung came out and said this.

As we climbed the stairs together, I mentally drew a map.

A few days ago, we had divided the area among ourselves while looking at a map, deciding to call the area from the Apartment Complex to the first Pharmacy block we farmed Zone A.

In Zone A, there were no more Zombies left, except for two buildings and the J Broadcasting Station.

Across the road from Zone A, we designated the block with the chicken restaurant and cafe, and the next four blocks, as Zone B.

Zone B was also the area where the guy who dismembered Zombies was active.

“Then let’s finish clearing the Pharmacy building and the adjacent building this afternoon and come back early. We won’t have to struggle hiding the Trolley.”

“Okay, okay. Then be careful, Oppa. *Kiss, kiss*.”

Seonyoung gave me a light kiss as I was about to climb onto the window frame.

She complains about being tired, yet she accepts everything and keeps arousing me.

It would be so much better if Seonyoung also gained a Body Reinforcement Ability.

And of course, it would be good for me too.

Speaking of which, I gained a new Ability this morning.

My guess that an Ability would be added every time Acquired increased by 10 was wrong, but something new did appear regardless.

It had been almost two weeks since the world changed, but I still couldn’t fully understand the Status Window.

Would the day ever come when I truly understood it?

* Transformation: Optimization

* Increased Resilience (25), Body Reinforcement (50), Body Reinforcement 2

* Acquired: 14

The newly acquired Ability, in my opinion, was too uninspired.

Body Reinforcement Two, really?

Was it a Season 2, riding on the popularity of the previous installment?

Usually, sequels are less interesting than the original, so I really hoped this wouldn’t be the case.