Stagnant Water of Apocalypse

Although I said that offense was the best defense, I didn’t have any intention to do it right away. I have just arrived and I want to take a little break.

Then, Commander Seong-tae briefly introduced me to the battalion’s accommodation and facilities. The gym members and Lieutenant Hyun-woo and the other military personnels were living apart with a training ground in between. That’s enough distance.

“For now, please rest. The Commander said he wants to have a meeting again later, is it okay?”

“Yes. That’s okay.” While having that conversation, Sooyeon and I entered our lodgings. All metal had disappeared from this world, but the room was surprisingly neat and seemed to be good enough to live in. As I entered the hallway on the first floor, Mikyung came down from the stairs from the second floor while drying her wet hair with a towel.

“Ahjussi, You’re here?”

“How is it? Is it good staying here?” I would know soon enough even without asking, but I still asked anyway. Mikyung smiled bashfully and said it was good because there was a lot of water here. She also told me that all the basins and tanks on the base were filled to the brim before the water supply was cut off. Once again, I was amazed at how fast the soldiers are at responding to emergencies.

Sooyeon tapped my shoulder. “The men’s room is on the first floor. You’ll smell if you just go to sleep right away, so wash up firs… huh?”

“It doesn’t smell at all. Where did you shower?” Sooyeon blankly looked at my face and sniffed the air around me.

Oops. I forgot that I showered once I passed through the Gimhae Plains. Mikyung approached me with eyes gleaming in curiosity and also sniffed.

“Ah… it smells like soap.”

“I washed in one of the waterways in Gimhae Plains.”

“But, Ahjussi. I’ve been thinking for a long time, you’re so clean. Look at my skin, it’s a mess.”

Is it because I washed quite often in the forest?

“Well, it’s because I like to clean myself.” I said before I turned around and entered the room. It was a simple room with a bed, a wardrobe and a desk, but it would do just fine. It’s not a place I would stay for long anyway.

While I was unpacking, I heard Sooyeon nagging. “Mikyung, are you going to keep showing your bare legs like that?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Quickly put on long pants. It’s not good to show your bare legs to men.”

“But it’s more comfortable this way. It’s cool too.”

“It doesn’t matter if there’s only the two of us, but there are men here, so it could be dangerous, Grace.”

“Eh? How did you know that name, unnie?”

“Just go quickly!”

Mikyung kept pushing for an answer for some time while Sooyeon told her to quickly change into long pants. In fact, she was truly careless. No matter how close you are to the group, men are still men. If she keeps showing off her bare skin, an accident is bound to happen. This is why masks are the best thing to have for women in an apocalyptic world.

As I was lying on the narrow bed, Yoohyeon’s paper airplane flew in.

-Do you want to have dinner together? -Lieutenant Hyun-woo.

I would love to. When we gathered, the meal was very different from before. It was probably due to the fact that the materials stored in the first-class warehouse were enormous. There were more than a dozen boxes of cup noodles alone, and don’t get me started with just how many military rations there are here. Including military rations, the supplies inside the warehouse would be enough for all of the people here to last several months, even when everyone eats their fill every meal. Of course, we were not the only ones using the supplies, so it wouldn’t last that long. But it was still necessary to take measures because it was said that kobolds as well as survivors nearby were looting it without care.

After dinner, we all gathered once again.

“Let the kids rest, let’s just talk between ourselves.” The people Hyung-jun Hyung included in his ‘ourselves’ were me, Sooyeon, and Lieutenant Hyun-woo while the ‘kids’ he referred to seems to be the two soldiers in their early 20s, Yoohyeon and Mikyung.

I boiled water in a pot and handed them a cup of mixed coffee each.

“Ah… it’s been a while since I’ve had coffee.” Sooyeon quickly gulped it down before letting a content smile. It was blissful to drink coffee while looking at the dark forest on the autumn night while hearing the crickets chirping. It would be perfect if there aren’t any of these damn monsters roaming around, though.

Lieutenant Hyun-woo then began the talk. “I heard that Seongho-ssi said something about ‘offense is the best defense’.”

“That’s right. I suggest that while you guys are still here, we need to do some kobold subjugation. Well, if you don’t want to, we will do it ourselves.”

If that’s the case, I would definitely participate. Well, there was no problem at all if they decided they wanted to just go to Seoul without doing so.

“Is it because they robbed the warehouse?”

“That’s right. It’s okay to leave it alone. However, after listening to Seong-tae-ssi, he said that whenever they robbed the warehouse, they also create a mess while doing so. So, It’s annoying to clean up.”

“It must be difficult though… Do you have any plans?”

I put a roughly drawn map on the folding table. It was a map that included the Gimhae Battalion, Bunseong Mountain, and the theme park located at the top.

“If you just clean this area, it will be much better for the time being.”

“But there are other monsters, aren’t there? Like zombies or goblins.”

“There aren’t that many zombies around here, and there would be only a few goblins here because they love the city more as they love to do weird things there. At least that was what was written on the walkthrough that the government scattered.”

“Ah, Seongho is right. It’s clearly written.” Sooyeon put the walkthrough pamphlet next to the map. Lieutenant Hyun-woo looked at it and said to me,

“Are you saying that if we can just subdue some kobolds, the surroundings will be safer?”

“For the time being, that will be the case. This base was quite hidden, so it would be quite difficult for goblins to find this place. Moreover, they wouldn’t roam around in this area as there would be nothing to eat if the kobolds were all dead.

Simply put, when there’s no organic matter in one area, there’s no reason for monsters to exist in that specific area. In the case of goblins, they would prefer wandering a city’s centerpoint when there’s a lot to eat and loot rather than staying in an empty forest. However, unlike goblins, kobolds prefer forests. Therefore, as long as they were killed, the area around the battalion will be safer, at least for a while.

When I look at Hyung-jun Hyung, I can see that he’s not listening at all, as his eyes look blank, like he’s busy thinking about something else. He is probably thinking about his daughter and ex-wife. Of course, it was impossible to expect the two of them to be alive. However, it seems like Hyung honestly wants to at least find their traces. But, since he feels responsible for his role as the leader of the gym group, he wouldn’t be able to go. It looks like I need to help him, so he won’t be distracted in the future and able to move on .

“Hyung, I can take a look at them for you. Can you tell me my sister-in-law’s address?”

“Huh? Seongho? You wanted to check them for me?”

“Yes. I’ll go look for them later.”

“Thank you… The address is Angkor Apartment in Jangyu 2-dong.”

“The apartment complex there must’ve collapsed, so if they were still alive, they would have evacuated.”

“There should be a studio complex and a shopping mall nearby. Can you look over there too?”

“Of course, Hyung.” It wouldn’t be that difficult.

Anyway, while we were chatting, Lieutenant Hyun-woo looked at the map several times before making his decision.

“Let’s do as you said then, Seongho-ssi. I think I wouldn’t feel relieved if I left this place still infested with kobolds while going to Seoul…”

“Then we’ll rest tonight, and we’ll start making plans tomorrow morning.” Everyone agreed with my proposal. The kids… no they were all adults, why am I copying Hyung-jun Hyung. Anyway, they probably had already fallen asleep by now. Well, it doesn’t matter, we want them to rest anyway. The two soldiers, as well as Mikyung and Yoohyeon, must have been very tired because of their situation. Even though Sooyeon said she was fine, it didn’t seem to be the truth as she kept rubbing her eyes, looking sleepy.

Hyung-jun Hyung looked at me and envied me. “As expected of someone in their late twenties, you’re still fervent, even though it’s this late. I envy that stamina, really.”

At those words, Lieutenant Hyun-woo looked at me in surprise.

“huh? I’m also in my late twenties. Our age is actually closer than I thought. I’m 29, by the way.”

“I’m also 29. Then, should we drop the formalities?”

He nodded at my suggestion.

“Of course, it will be more comfortable that way.”

After that, we bring our bows and snacks, in order to prepare for the night duty. Unfortunately… or maybe fortunately, the kobolds did not appear throughout the night.

Then, the morning of the 8th dawned.

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“Sooyeon, Mikyung, and Yoohyeon will be in the support team. Do you know what your respectful role is? Sooyeon will be the medic, Mikyung will be the transport, and Yoohyeon will be the reconnaissance aircraft.” Seongho said as he pointed at them in order he called their name.

“Woah, it’s Mercy! Mercy!” These were the words of Commander-in-chief Seong-tae after hearing about Sooyeon’s role and unique ability. When Seongho asked about what he was talking about, he told him that ‘Mercy’ was a famous game character. (E/n: probably Mercy from Overwatch)

At the revelation, Sooyeon made an ambiguous expression on her face. “I don’t want to be compared to a game character.”

“Ah, I’m sorry. But you are very similar to her.”

“Is she pretty?”

“Very! The reason for her popularity was due to her beauty. But the downside is that she’s a little older…”

“…” Private First Class Lim said and instantly got the attention of Sooyeon, who was older than most of us. However, he wasn’t bothered by her gaze at all.

“If it were you, Hyung, you wouldn’t have to worry about the attack of the kobolds. Just don’t go over the direction the arrows are pouring towards.”

“So, I should stay away?”

“Yes. Dingo will move along with you and herd the kobolds towards us.”

“Okay. He’s such a smart guy.” Hyung-jun Hyung said as he eyed Dingo who was laying on the ground.

“And this…” Hyung-jun’s eyes widened as Seongho held out a long knife towards him.

“Isn’t that a 300-point weapon? Are you borrowing it to me?”

“That is so. If you use this, the kobolds will be very easy to deal with.”

Hyung-jun stared at the swords before gulping his saliva down. “I was thinking of buying this too, but I was hesitant because I had to spend all of my points if I do so. But it seems like it was a really good weapon.”

Anyway, Seongho had assigned the other three soldiers for a long range offensive role. The reason was simple, as it was their expertise as soldiers.

To be honest, Seongho personally thought since the monster’s nest which they would raid was nothing but a small scale one, they wouldn’t need any plan to do it. Or at least, it was how it should be normally. However, as the opponents were kobolds, they had to be more careful. It was because those guys often called for reinforcement by making strange noises when they were cornered. There was no content regarding it in the walkthrough pamphlet, therefore Seongho had no choice but to personally explain it as well as the strategy to the group.

“All you have to do is hold on to your own position and attack! Team 2, if the kobolds run away, don’t chase them! Team 1 or 3 will take care of it!”

“Understood.”

“Let’s go.” The party left the battalion and headed for the mountain. Since they already found the nest by using Yoohyeon’s paper airplane, all that was left was to go and attack it.

When they moved closer to the nest, Dingo started to bark. The kobolds who heard it quickly ran out of their den and looked around. This will be the very first time the gym group ever saw kobolds. Wet fur because of morning dew, ferocious-looking teeth, and slumped posture. It was a very ugly looking monster. They’re on a different level when compared with the ugly green-skinned goblins.

Unlike goblins who use nets and traps, kobolds only use really primitive weapons such as spears and slingshots. However, they were still annoying little bastards because they have a habit of calling their kin when cornered. Moreover, they could run on all fours, which would make them very slippery and hard to track.

“That guy is running away!” When one of the soldiers shouted, Yoohyeon fired an arrow with a folded paper tied on it towards it. The arrow bent to avoid a tree before piercing the back of the running kobold like a guided missile. Then, a small explosion occurred. However, as the explosion came from the inside of its body, it was quite fatal. The kobold couldn’t stand the explosion and fell forward, whimpering.

Before it could run away, Seongho jumped to it and smashed its head with an ebony club.

“Phew. It’s done! Let’s rest for a while before moving to the next nest!” At his cry, Lieutenant Hyun-woo sat down and sighed.

The raid, which had just finished, was already the second raid. Never in his wildest imagination Lieutenant Hyun-woo ever thought that hunting kobolds would be so easy. His eyes followed Seongho as the two soldiers began to speak, seemingly thought so as well.

“Aren’t you surprised, Commander-in-chief? He seems to have a lot of experience in fighting against kobolds.”

“Yeah… I think so too. He seemed to know in advance where they were going to run.”

Of course, it could only be nothing but coincidence. However, the direction he went to whenever some kobolds ran away, as well as his timings, were always impeccable. He guided people to take action by going back and forth between them and the front line. And when they did what he told them to, the battle proceeded easily. Moreover, whenever he told someone to retreat a few steps back, stones thrown by the kobolds fell right in front of them. When Lieutenant Hyun-woo asked how he did that, he said that he saw it in advance because of his unique ability.

However, even though Seongho seemed to be doing a lot, the truth was he didn’t even fight directly. He only went around with Sooyeon to help her get some experience. As a result, Sooyeon’s level finally rose to 10.

“Oh. I’m level 10 now.”

“What about the additional effects?” Seongho quickly asked.

“It increases the healing distance. Though, I don’t think the range increase will be that far.” Sooyeon explained.

“I think you are really Mercy. Though, I don’t know about her at all.”

“They say I look so similar to them when I take my glasses off. Should I tie my hair up too? To ponytail?”

But Seongho just shrugged his shoulders at her question. After all, he didn’t care much about her appearance. Before she knew it, he already approached Yoohyeon and told him that he did a good job while patting him on the shoulder. Sooyeon quikly shut her mouth and hid her embarrassment by tying her hair with a rubber band.

After looking at the group, Seongho decided to end the hunt there. It was because the party’s stamina consumption was too severe due to the fact they had to climb the mountain. Most of the nearby kobold nests had been cleared, so he judged that it should be fine for a while.

The group went down the mountain in unison and headed to the base. However, when they arrived, they were reminded that it wasn’t only kobolds who were taking the supplies without their consent.

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“Wow, I really wanted to slap them.”

“You did well for holding it in.” I said as I patted Hyung-jun Hyung on the back. What made him angry were none other than the nearby survivors. When we returned from the kobold subjugation, we saw them rummaging through the warehouse as soon as we entered the base.

When the soldiers sighed at the sight, Hyung-jun Hyung was the one who threw them a question.

“What are you doing now?” 

“Why are you asking that? Can’t we be here?”

“This warehouse is public property prepared by the state. not yours.”

The survivors argued that it was the property of the state and that they had the right to take whatever they want.

Then, Lieutenant Hyun-woo said,

“Why don’t you take some every now and then? We already told you so, don’t we?”

“Why should we listen though? It’s up to us.”

“Yeah, don’t be like that. Just do what you have to do. By the way, has the number of people here increased? Who are the two girls over there?”

The survivors even tried to dig into the identity of Sooyeon and Mikyung. What annoying bastards. However, since Lieutenant Hyun-woo, the one who was in charge of this base was standing still, I couldn’t just confront them.

While they were talking to us, they still gathered as much supplies as they could.

“Let’s live together. There are so many things here, you can’t eat them all anyway.”

“Are you taking it and sharing it with the survivors around you? If so, you can take whatever you want.”

The guys laughed out loud at Hyun-woo’s words.

“What are you talking about? Sharing?”

“Lieutenant Kim is a nice person, huh?”

It would have been fine if they just said they will share it with other survivors even though it’s a lie. But the survivors brazenly denied it and walked away while laughing out loud. Their attitude was so pompous to the point Hyun-woo, who had always been calm, turned red.

“…I didn’t hunt kobolds to see something like this.” Everyone agreed with Sooyeon’s words, but there was nothing they could do. Afterall, It was true that there were many supplies piled inside. It was also true that we are not the owners of the supplies. You couldn’t just drive some survivors out just because their attitude was annoying.

When the two soldiers said they would take Lieutenant Hyun-woo to the dormitory, I quietly returned to the room.

“Looking at their attitude, they must have belonged somewhere…” After all, ordinary survivors had no reason to make enemies by acting cocky to another group, unless someone is backing them. It’s even more true when the group had someone from the military. Which means, they must have been ordered by someone.

Today was the 8th, the day the groups from Gimhae and Changwon, who were related to the Kwon’s group, would give each other their regular report. When I opened the Auction House, a strange item was listed as an auction item.

I opened Kwon’s journal as I read the comment.

―CW5 C

―CW3 C

—GH4 C

―GH2 ST AR

“The front was the branch name, and the back is their situation… C means that nothing is wrong.” CW stands for Changwon and GH stands for Gimhae. Meanwhile, The ST and AR were shortened English words for ‘Stranger’ and ‘Arrive’ respectively. The stranger they reported was probably referring to us.

“It means GH2 was around the battalion.” It seems like the one behind those guys was this GH2 clan. Their real goal was probably to drive us out and take over the warehouse.

Then, a comment suddenly appeared.

―BS11?

―BS11C

As I typed the answer, no more questions came. Just like this, I just check the situation in each area. They were also quite meticulous as they periodically removed the auction items and put them up again to erase all traces of communication.

When the auction items came up once again and several comments were written, I used points to check everyone’s ID. At that moment, I discovered something surprising. The troll who was the source of all the commotion happened back in the awakened forum was here.

-GaeTroll (Help Me): There’s women among the strangers? Are they pretty?

“Aigoo.”

He’s the guy who scammed 10 million won from some awakeners and ran away.

-GaeTroll (Help Me): Change of plan. Get the kids together tomorrow night. Try to find where the girls are sleeping.

“My god…”

It seems that the rumour that Sooyeon and Mikyung were pretty has spread all the way there.

At that moment, an idea popped out in my head. It was none other than the same ‘offense is the best defense’ strategy.

When I left that auction item’s comment section and browsed through the other auction items, I found out that Duck had arrived at Miryang.

“If it’s Miryang… it’s not that far from here.”

The comments also said that the whole area was crowded with survivors who flocked there because of her.

-There were already two zombie raids here lol

-Her body shape, posture and gesture is all perfect. She’s like a real queen

-Hey, you bastards, stop saying anything when you are only quaking on your boots because of her zombies!

-LOLOL

-But why is she in Miryang?

-I don’t know. She may have come to meet Rapwi.

“She’s really popular.” By the way, the reason she came down to Miryang must have been to meet me. In fact, I was still hesitating whether to meet her or not.

“…”

I recalled my memories with Duck Buttock Goes Kwek Kwek. He… No, she mainly played with Rapwi, but it couldn’t be said that we were not friendly to each other.

“She once said that she wanted to suck a werewolf…” At that time, I brushed it off as simple nonsense. But now that I think about it, why is a woman like her saying such vulgar things like that?

“Let’s not think about it, let’s not think…” Duck was also a stagnant water, so the more I think about it, the more I will suffer.

Anyway, it seems like it would be better to meet her. Afterall, she was someone I shared many memories with.

“You came all the way here to see me, shouldn’t I at least offer her some hospitality?”

I decided. Let’s meet her and have a talk.

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