Chapter 45. Carelessness

Chapter 45. Carelessness

“First, we need to confirm if you, Oppa, can lure the Zombies. Can you bring them from the Intersection all the way here without getting caught?”

“Yeah. I noticed on the first day that I’m naturally faster. This distance won’t be a problem.”

“Alright, then let’s create a favorable stage for us here. You know about Bottlenecks, right, Oppa?”

“Yeah, I know. You mean when traffic gets jammed on the highway, right?”

“Exactly. Traffic jams happen because of Bottlenecks, and originally, it’s about… no, that’s not important right now. See this narrow path behind us that leads to the Hiking Trail? We’ll block the road with cars so the Zombies can’t come through all at once.”

“Ah, I get it. So we can take them down one or two at a time?”

Seonyoung’s plan was to create a kind of wall using cars.

It was a method no one else could execute, but I could move abandoned cars on the street however I pleased.

“First, these two cars just need their direction slightly adjusted. And that white car over there, we’ll place it around here… No, Oppa, look at this.”

Seonyoung quickly sketched a diagram on the paper she was holding, explaining the best way to arrange them.

“We don’t need to block the path completely. Zombies don’t have the intelligence to go around anyway, so this much should be enough. I’ll wait at the white star, so let’s block them here first. If it looks like they’re overwhelming us, we’ll retreat to the black star. I’ll create a Shield at the red line I drew. That way, the path will be blocked in two stages, and we should be able to clear them all out.”

“Okay. So you’re good at SimCity too, huh? Blocking the path with Forges and Gates, and I’m the Zealot.”

“Huh? What’s that? Are you sure you understood, Oppa? I even drew a picture for you, how else should I explain it…? Did I draw it too roughly?”

“No, no. I get it.”

After assuring Seonyoung, who was racking her brain to explain it more simply, that I truly understood, I put down my weapon and Backpack and stretched my hands.

Still, I’d be exerting myself, so a warm-up was in order.

There were plenty of ownerless cars nearby, so I pulled the closest ones to form a wall.

At first, I just dropped the back of a car I was holding, and the sound echoed a bit too loudly, startling me. I quickly checked on the Zombies at the Intersection.

Fortunately, it seemed I hadn’t drawn any aggro, so from then on, I carefully lowered the cars, setting up the battlefield.

While I moved the cars, Seonyoung seemed to be running simulations in her head, pacing around, striking poses, and swinging her Baseball Bat.

“Seonyoung, this should be enough, right?”

“Yeah. You worked hard, Oppa. Let’s take a short break.”

When I asked, sweating, she seemed to think I was exhausted and pulled out a Towel to wipe my face.

It wasn’t so much exhaustion as the high morning temperature that made me sweat a little.

I drank some water, but sitting under the intensifying sunlight, it didn’t feel like much of a rest.

“Seonyoung, it’s too hot. I think it’s better if we just move quickly.”

“You’re right. It’s really hot for a morning today.”

“Wait a minute. I should pick up some Stones. There are a lot near this fence.”

I planned to use them to lure Zombies, and then, after escaping, hide behind the cars and throw them at the incoming Zombies.

They were small Stones, but if I threw them and hit a Zombie’s head, they’d be lethal enough.

“Oppa, aren’t you picking up too many? Will we really use this many?”

“Who knows? It doesn’t matter if we have too many. Alright, I’m heading out.”

I piled up a heap of Stones behind the car like a cairn, entrusted the Baseball Bat to Seonyoung, and then headed towards the Intersection.

Holding one Stone in each hand, I walked to the middle of the road.

Now, it didn’t matter if the Zombies saw me anyway.

Whoosh! Thwack!

From a slight distance, I threw one Stone with all my might as a test.

I thought the Zombies would have noticed by now, but strangely, they were all looking in different directions.

The Stone, flying at incredible speed, accurately struck a Zombie’s head, and the hit Zombie collapsed instantly.

Kroooaaak!

Whoosh! Thwack!

Perhaps finally noticing, one Zombie turned to look at me and let out a shriek.

I immediately threw another Stone.

Again, the Stone flew with a terrifying sound and embedded itself in the body of the screaming Zombie.

The Zombie, struck by the Stone, was thrown backward as if bounced.

If I’d had this much control back then, I would’ve been a Pitcher, not a Batter.

My accuracy had increased without any special effort, and the destructive power was like firing a Gun.

Soon, the Zombies’ shrieks began to echo from all directions.

Confirming that several of them had already started running towards me, I Sprint-ed towards Seonyoung.

“Seonyoung, get ready!”

“Yeah, hurry, Oppa.”

As I ran, my body felt incredibly controlled.

My upper body barely swayed, and my lower body moved flexibly, gradually increasing my speed.

Could I really run this fast?

I ran with a sense of liberation, then quickly slowed down as the car-made wall approached.

“Wow, Oppa. What was that? I thought a Gorilla was running towards us. You’re so fast, you look completely relaxed.”

“Right? I didn’t know either. Seonyoung, after trying Stone Throwing, I think I can take down quite a few Zombies with just Stones. Can you pick up some for me from the side?”

“Uh-huh. Got it. You don’t even seem out of breath, Oppa? The Zombies are coming. I thought you’d lost them because you were so fast, but they’re catching up well. How many are there?”

“Wow, there are over twenty of them? Anyway, we can handle them all.”

I threw a Stone, slightly smaller than my Fist, towards the Zombie leading the charge.

Even if I didn’t hit the head, they’d fall if struck anywhere, so I aimed roughly and began throwing Stones rapidly.

Whoosh! Thwack! Whoosh! Thwack!

Starting with the foremost Zombie, the charging Zombies began to fall one by one.

Not a single Stone missed, striking heads, bodies, or shoulders with perfect accuracy.

“Oppa, what the…? Why are you hitting every single one? Weren’t you a Batter? No, don’t answer, just keep throwing. Here.”

How many Stones had I thrown?

It felt like I’d thrown over 30. As time passed, the interval between throws shortened.

I gradually adjusted my posture for greater efficiency, and Seonyoung’s rhythm of handing me Stones also quickened.

I kept throwing Stones at the Zombies that fell and then tried to get back up.

Not a single Zombie managed to get close to us.

Whump! Thwack!

Seonyoung stood up, kicked an incoming Zombie in the chest, and then slammed its head with her Baseball Bat.

Suddenly, her tough demeanor looked incredibly cool.

With only a few Zombies left trying to get up, I simply walked out to meet them.

“No… it feels kind of anticlimactic. It’s good, but it’s weird. Why did we even make a plan?”

“Right? I didn’t expect it to turn out like this… Sorry?”

“No, no. Why are you apologizing, Oppa? It’s great that we cleared them all out without any trouble. It just feels a bit anticlimactic, that’s all. Oh, maybe it’s because of something you often say.”

Whump! Thwack!

Beside me, a Zombie with both shoulders shattered struggled to get up.

Even though their only weakness is the head, their body structure is the same as humans, so if they lose a part, they seem to lose their balance easily.

The Zombie’s movements felt sluggish, so I easily smashed its head.

“Huh? What saying?”

“You know how you sometimes say, ‘If the body’s not well, the mind suffers,’ Oppa? Seeing how this turned out, it feels like you’re saying it to me. Like, ‘Why bother racking your brain to prepare when we can clear it so easily?’”

“It’s thanks to your idea, Seonyoung, that we could handle it so smoothly and without worry. So don’t feel anticlimactic. It turns out I wasn’t a Zealot blocking the path, but a Marine in a Bunker.”

“No, what even is a Zealot?”

“Hmm… I’ll tell you when we get home. You’ll understand quickly if you play a round. Anyway, have we cleared everything now?”

“Yeah. What about those cars?”

“Let’s just leave them. It doesn’t matter, does it?”

It was a completely unexpected turn of events, but we achieved our goal nonetheless.

After finishing off the Zombies, I returned, grabbed my Backpack, and headed back to the Intersection.

Slurp, slurp.

We entered the Convenience Store on the corner of the Intersection, enjoying the air conditioner’s breeze as we ate our Ice Cream.

Resting in the cool air made me feel alive again.

“Oppa, this place is incredibly clean, isn’t it? No Zombies at all, and not a single bloodstain.”

“Right? It seems they were all outside. Plus, maybe because there were so many Zombies at the Intersection, all the supplies are still here.”

“Yeah, we can’t even take everything at once. I think we should just loot this place and head home for now.”

“Sounds good. What should we pack first?”

After finishing my Ice Cream, Seonyoung unfolded the Trolley she had collapsed, and I pulled out my Cell Phone to check my saved list.

“The most urgent thing is Gloves. If there are Eggs or Jerky, let’s grab all of those too.”

“Oh, here are some Coated Gloves. Daily necessities aren’t urgent, right?”

“Yeah, I think we should focus on food. Oh, and Lunchboxes and bread are all spoiled, so no need to take those.”

“Got it. There aren’t many anyway.”

The food we packed most were mainly Canned Food, Jarred Food, and Frozen Processed Food.

Since their expiration dates are long, we store them with a long-term perspective.

“Oh, there’s a lot of Squid and Jerky here. Let’s grab all the Salt and Sugar too…”

“Seonyoung, don’t put heavy things in the Backpack. Focus on lighter items. Grab things like Chocolate and Energy Bars here.”

We were also packing Dried Processed Food and Frozen Stored Food, taking whatever looked like it would last a long time.

The problem was the lack of Freezers.

We also packed all the Seasonings, various Sauces, and Powdered Soup visible at eye level.

“No, Oppa, stop packing Condoms. We have plenty at home already. And why are you packing Nail Clippers? We have enough to last us until we’re old and gray.”

Seonyoung inspected the items I had packed in the Trolley.

I must have just tossed them in from the Display Shelf where daily necessities like Batteries and Power Banks were gathered.

We moved diligently, filling the Backpack and Trolley, and prepared to head home.

“Seonyoung, don’t take out the Cigarettes. I heard those can be used for bartering later.”

Feeling like a student getting my belongings checked, I quickly pulled the Trolley away before Seonyoung could remove anything else.