Stagnant Water of Apocalypse

Survival Life begins right after the zombie apocalypse broke out and the world got destroyed. When the users started the tutorial, they were spawned without any guide or help, and without knowing anything as well, except that tall buildings had collapsed, zombies were swarming, and the surroundings were dark. Ah, and of course, after 5 minutes, they would realize that the game was so goddamn hard.

Anyway, the game was very unfriendly. There was no introduction or in-game help that was set for the new users. Whatever they wanted to know, they had to find out about it personally. Therefore, there was no way to know what had happened to dangerous facilities such as nuclear power plants and chemical factories.

There were no related events surrounding those dangerous facilities, and for users who were busy surviving, those places were just not that interesting. So, back in the game, everyone thought that it was just a background setting which they didn’t have to pay attention towards. But in real life, if we didn’t pay attention to it, it would be a very dangerous factor to our survival. Though, it was on the premise that Captain Kim Hyun-woo’s words were true.

“If the nuclear power plant is really dangerous, let’s run away and go here.” I put my finger on the map. The place I pointed out was a neighbourhood with a lot of one-room housing in Gangseo-gu, close to Gimhae.

“Isn’t it too far? It seems to be about more than 10 kilometers from here.” Hyung-jun Hyung creased his eyebrows.

“This is the best place that was located on the west side of Gimhae Airport. There are many rice centers around, and all of them are industrial fields, so there will be fewer zombies. Goblins are unavoidable, though.”

“Can we drink water from the Nakdong River?”

“If we refine it, it should be quite drinkable.”

In fact, we don’t have to drink river water because there’s Yongjeong CC nearby. The owner of the bunker, Mr. Kwon, would surely resist fiercely, but we just had to break him. The stockpiles of his three bunkers would be far more numerous than the supplies that the gym members had stockpiled.

I was planning to stay behind after the group left and watch for any thieves. Since the nuclear power plant was getting dangerous, I wouldn’t be staying too long, though.

“This location is where Gimhae Battalion is located. There’s a military base there. I’ve been told that the soldiers had taken over the command, but I don’t know about their current situation. There must also be a type 1 warehouse there.” Captain Hyun-woo pointed at a space a little bit above the location we picked.

“Were they your subordinates?” When Sooyeon asked, Captain Hyun-woo waved his hand.

“They are no longer my subordinates, but colleagues. One is a private and the other is a sergeant who couldn’t get discharged because the zombie apocalypse occurred just before the date of his discharge.”

“What a poor guy.”

“Aigoo.”

Hyung-jun Hyung and I touched our foreheads at the same time as soon as we heard the words. Those guys really had no luck whatsoever. However, this also could be a lie. But I thought that it was too real to be a lie. At this point, I’d like to hear some news from the Auction House. Wouldn’t it already spread around if it’s true that smoke had risen from the Kori nuclear power plant?

Sooyeon, who had been quiet, spoke out of nowhere. “Come to think of it, if things went wrong, half of the Korean Peninsula could be polluted.”

“Why?”

“Because of China. A nuclear power plant was built on the coast of China. I don’t think they had the chance to shut their nuclear power plants like we did. Therefore, because the direction of the wind would always go towards Japan, we would be hit as well.”

“Ah… is that so?” Hyung-jun Hyung scratched his head.

I nodded my head at Sooyeon’s words. His deduction makes sense. After all, when Korea, which had shut the nuclear power plant and other dangerous industrial factories in advance, still had problems with it, then what about other countries, for example, China? They would surely be devastated.

Depending on the direction of the wind, the damage would spread to Korea too. If I had informed the government in advance…

No.

No government would shut their nuclear power plants down just because some random guy told them to do so. Even the Korean government only took action after identifying the corpses of goblins and zombies. Even if I had revealed the truth, nothing would’ve changed. Because from what I know, the core of a nuclear power plant emits residual heat for as long as 1-2 years.

“If what Captain Hyun-woo said is true, we should flee to the west of Gimhae Airport. It would be better to pack your bags right now.”

“How about the supply? Should we leave it all here?” Sooyeon said as she looked around the supplies with a confused face. She probably thinks that if we threw it all away, it was the same as throwing away all of the money she spent on it. It was fine for her to not worry too much, though. I’ll keep them in the portal and give them to her saying I found a place to farm. There’s no risk of getting caught because I’ll be using the name of other survivors.

The more pressing matter was whether Captain Hyun-woo’s words were true or not. Well, I could just confirm it once the others left.

“Seongho, what is that number on the paper plane?” Hyung-jun Hyung asked me.

“This is Mikyung’s level. If she raises it by 2 more levels, an additional effect will be added to her unique ability.”

“Is that so?”

“Because it was an additional option for blink, it should be useful in this situation. It would be great if it increases her blink distance, or the maximum of things she can carry.”

“Will it be Mikyung’s role to move the supplies?”

“Yes. Should I say she will be a courier?”

“By the way, how can she raise 2 levels in this situation…”

“The truth is, I cleared a goblin’s den a little while ago. I found another one, so I’ll take Mikyung along to level her up.”

“You’ll help her level up?”

“Goblin’s den?”

Everyone looked at me incredulously. Then, I explained what happened. Except, of course, about Kyunghoon and the guys from the office group.

“There were goblins and hobgoblins inside. But the den was straightforward. With enough preparation, it was not difficult to clear.”

“Seongho, you are no joke…”

“Usually, I wouldn’t enter alone, but when I found the den and took a peek inside, because of its narrow way, it wouldn’t be difficult to block the paralyzing darts shot by the goblins.”

“…it’s not up for me to decide. Yoohyeon, are you listening? Please ask Mikyung about it.”

After a while, a paper airplane appeared and moved up and down, like a nodding gesture. Looking at the sight, Captain Hyun-woo’s eyes widened. It seems like it was the first time he saw that kind of ability. Since it looks like Mikyung agreed, I’m going to have to go crazy here. I said quickly.

“There is a lot to do. Hyung-jun Hyung and Sooyeon, please prepare backpacks for people to carry, and Yoohyeon will be helping Captain Kim Hyun-woo telling other survivors about this news. Would that be okay?”

Captain Hyun-woo nodded his head with a warm smile plastered on his face. After all, It would be more convenient to contact other people with a paper plane than to go around in person, with the risk of dying coming from both the monsters and the survivors. Then I said towards the plane, “Mikyung and I will go to the goblin’s den. We will also hunt zombies on the way.”

Then, Sooyeon asked me. “Seongho also had supplies at home. Should we help you with it?”

“I will take care of it. When everyone is ready, just leave immediately. We will follow soon. Our meeting point will be here.” Everyone paid attention to the meeting point I pointed at the map.

Hyung-jun Hyung had a face that looked like he wanted to ask something, but in the end he nodded his head. “No matter how much I think about it, I can’t think of any better plan in my head. So, let’s do as Seongho says for now. If there is a problem on the way, we will discuss it at that time. Mikyung will join us as soon as she gets an additional effect, alright?”

“Yes. We will move at night when there are no zombies, and will move with Mikyung during the day.”

“It’s always you guys who suffer.”

The paper airplane moved up and down again after hearing Hyung-jun Hyung’s words. I’m sure it was Mikyung’s way to say it’s fine. In fact, there was no reason why Mikyung had to get her additional effect in this situation. But I wanted to do it since it would assure them that they would be safe.

When I finished explaining and answering all of their questions, I called Mikyung and we went out. We directly headed towards the goblin’s den that I had seen in advance. And when we cleared it, Mikyung’s level reached 10. At first, she was quite scared fighting against them, but she still bravely stepped forward. Luckily, the den we entered had no hobgoblin inside.

“Wow, the Store is open! It was like this, huh?” She exclaimed in delight as she opened the Store window.

“Isn’t there something more important than that?” Mikyung came to her senses as I said that and rolled her eyes.

“It’s a long-distance blink.” After experimenting a couple times, we found out that the additional effect makes it possible for Mikyung to move about 1 km. It was a huge increase in distance compared to before.

I returned home with Mikyung’s help. As soon as she arrived, she looked for Dingo.

“Mikyung, you should hurry…”

“Yes. I’ll go first. Ahjussi, you have to bring Dingo with you!”

After she disappeared, I finally could breathe a sigh of relief. Then, as I opened the portal, Dingo popped out with his tail wagging.

Let’s put some luggage inside.

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Even when the four stagnant waters were comrades who had played Survival Life together for a long time, there were still some among them who were not very close. For Rabbit Pwincess, Survivor 1 was such an existence. When the four of them get together, they would still have fun while making a lot of commotions. But, when it was only both of them, the atmosphere would be quiet.

For Rabbit Pwincess, Duck Buttock was a friend that he goes crazy with. And I Love Gimbap was a friend who acted as his brakes and someone who would always come to help him even though he knew that there’s no chance they would survive. Meanwhile, Survivor 1 was… just a friend..

“We are not very close.”

“Ah… is that so?” Beom-seok never thought that Rabbit Pwincess would honestly tell him about it. After all, they were on their way to meet Survivor 1 right now, so there’s nothing wrong with pretending to be close with him.

However, he knew the man who was following him right now was an awakened with resurrection unique ability, and he was in a position where he was free to act however he wanted. Therefore, the other person who had business with him was the one who had to match him.

Though, it was still surprising that he’s not excited in the slightest even though he’s going to meet such a famous persona like Survivor 1 and Jang Won-taek.

‘By the way, it’s amazing that he obediently followed me like this.’ Beom-seok thought. He had no doubt that Rabbit Pwincess would know about the existence of brainwashing-type unique ability. With a simple hand touch, the skill would activate, incapacitating the opponent. So, it was a taboo among awakeners to get in direct contact with each other unless they trust the other party a lot.

Does he have confidence to be fine even if he’s under the influence or does he not know?

Beom-seok asked quietly as he walked beside him. “Did you know that there are awakeners with brainwashing-type unique abilities?”

“My friends warned me about it and I also met one.”

“What happens when you meet them, then?”

“That guy was no longer in this world.”

“Did you kill him?”

Seokhyun stopped and smiled softly. When his yellow teeth were revealed, Beom-seok pretended not to see it and guided him to the designated location. When they arrived, someone had been waiting for them.

“He has the ability to blink. So, he will take Seokhyun and me to the shelter.” Beom-seok said. At first glance, people might think that It was some kind of measure to hide the location of the shelter. But in fact, it was just because the shelter was too far to walk.

“Then let’s go.” When Seokhyun came to his senses, he already stood in a wide and empty space which was built from concrete. Moments later, Beom-seok and the man from earlier also appeared. Then, Beom-seok led Seokhyun into a small door on one corner of the room. An old desk, a few chairs, a map, and two people were waiting for Seokhyun inside. One was the president while the other one was…

“You are Rapri-nim, aren’t you? Nice to meet you. I’m Survivor 1. My real name is Geom-in.” A cheery young man said as he stood to his feet.

‘His name was Geom-in? What a weird name…’ Seokhyun thought. “…we weren’t very close, were we?”

“Why are you being like this again? The four of us had fun together.”

“It’s only when the four of us gathered.”

“Oh, I didn’t come here for this.”

Seokhyun was caught in a strange sense of incongruity. The reason why he didn’t get along well with Survivor 1 was because he felt Survivor 1’s personality was fake. The others had a fairly constant personality throughout their time together, however, Survivor 1’s personality changed drastically depending on the situation. Duck Buttock or I Love Gimbap might have thought he changed to match the situation, but Seokhyun felt it was not like that. After all, he always felt like talking to a mask rather than a person when he communicated with Survivor 1.

When the atmosphere between the two started to worsen, Jang Won-taek intervened. “Haha, it’s been a while since both of you met, but the atmosphere is strange. May I ask for your name?”

“My name is Hwang Seokhyun. My unique skill is infinite resurrection.”

“Infinite resurrection, huh? What a great ability.” Jang Won-taek smiled warmly. He had been informed that unique abilities given to people were linked to their play time in Survival Life. The higher their playtime, the better their unique ability would be. Of course, it didn’t work that way in every case, but in most cases, it was like that. So, his staff had speculated that the four stagnant waters would each have an off-the-chart unique ability.

“Seokhyun’s skill is infinite resurrection, our Geom-in’s skill is a shelter-related abilities. Then, the other the other two must also have a great unique skill… How about this, can you please gather them for me?”

At Jang Won-taek’s suggestion, Seokhyun buried himself in the chair.

“You want me to do that?”

“That’s right. We’ll also give you some people so you can travel comfortably.”

“Let me ask you this, why did you want to do that?”

“It’s to survive. As Seokhyun knows, the world will become much harsher in the near future. Even if humanity manages to get used to zombies and goblins, werewolves would definitely cause a problem for us.”

Seokhyun shook his head. “If they know how to, werewolves are great targets for hunting.”

“Well, it was certainly true for Seokhyun. However, it was not true for other people. We want to protect many people. We desperately need your help.”

“You want me to gather my friends so that the two of you can rule as kings?”

It was such a rude question, but Jang Won-taek laughed it off. “Why should I be a king in a world like this? I already live long enough. I just want the legacy of Korea to carry on.”

“Hmm…” Seokhyun crossed his arms and pondered. The person in front of him had remained faithful to his duty until the D-day. He didn’t seem like a person who wanted to take advantage of others and deceived them. However, it was also true that he didn’t feel good about him because he had Survivor 1 on his side. His ever-smiling face somehow made him feel uncomfortable.

“I think I should go now.” Seokhyun said.

When he was about to get up, Geom-in spoke. “You said you were going south, could you tell me where you are going?”

“I don’t even know where I’m going.”

“Aha… I hope it’s not Busan or Ulsan. Rumour said that those areas were dangerous.”

“Why is it dangerous?”

“Join us and I’ll tell you.”

“…” Seokhyun quickly closed his mouth and stood up. He couldn’t stand the discomfort he felt because of Survivor 1 anymore. It seems like the discomfort he felt would only go away once he went crazy with Duck Buttock or met I Love Gimbap.

Jang Won-taek said quietly. “This is unfortunate. But today is not the only day… I will keep my promise, I’ll attach one person as a guide for you. You can leave her wherever you see fit. Well, as Geom-in said, it is better not to go to Busan or Ulsan.”

“Then, see you next time.” Beom-seok came in and guided Seokhyun out of the room. When he left, a sigh echoed in the small room.

“It seems like he doesn’t believe what we say.”

“I guess both of you really didn’t get along well, huh?”

“I don’t know why he’s being overly vigilant towards me. I had a good time with Duck-nim and I Love Gimbap-nim.”

“There will be a chance next time.” Jang Won-taek stood up and headed to his office. There was something else that bothered him these days. It was the core of nuclear power plants. Using his authority as a president, he had commanded the people under him to put those cores into an emergency cooling process. But even though it was already done, those cores were now causing a problem. In particular, the one in the Kori nuclear power plant was the most troublesome one. Several people had seen smoke rising from the power plant. Those are signs that it might explode soon. He was only able to confirm it because his employees were collecting information from each region from the Auction House.

Won-taek picked up the summarized note on his desk.

―It is almost certain that the Kori nuclear power plant is in a steam explosion sequence. Multiple testimony confirmed.

―There was no sign of a tsunami in the southern coastal area. Considering the size of the Silver Dragon meteorite group, this is impossible.

―It is said that the wind from the sea and the coast is blowing strangely. Please confirm.

―No abnormalities were detected in the Gyeonggi, Hoseo, and Honam areas. There appears to be no radioactive contamination that was feared.

‘How should I feel about this, I wonder…’ Won-taek thought. There were so many nuclear power plants in China, so, it was hard to believe that they had successfully shut all of their nuclear power plants down. Therefore, even at this moment, the core must be dissipating tremendous heat to the area.

“Whew…” Won-taek let out a long sigh. It was useless to worry about nuclear power plants in distant lands. What he had to do now was to evacuate the survivors around Busan.

Won-taek said to Beom-seok.“ I will put the information on the Auction House.”

“People will notice our existence… Will it be okay?”

“Kid, isn’t that our job?”

Is it? Beom-seok thought. Even if the Seoul shelter was created to protect a large number of survivors, it doesn’t mean that they had to take in every survivor who came. But Beom-seok knew it was better to not talk about it in front of the president that he respected.

He bowed his head to the president, left the room and quickly wrote the information on the Auction House.

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When all of the survivors were leaving the town, the streets were full of zombies and goblins. I was still in the academy the gym group used to occupy. Since it has already been a few hours since they left, the thieves should’ve come around now. However, even after waiting several more hours, the thieves did not show up.

“It seems like Captain Hyun-woo’s words are true.” Which means, the nuclear power plant was really in a dangerous state. Then there’s no need to wait any longer. I quickly moved and put the supplies stockpiled by the gym members into the portal. But even though I was busy, I didn’t forget to check the Auction House’s reaction.

“Huh? What is this?” Several same items were being auctioned. However, its starting price was outrageous. It was clear as day that whoever put those items up didn’t have any intention on selling it.

When I clicked on it and went to the comment section, my eyes widened.

-This is the government. We are informed that the Kori nuclear power plant is in a steam explosion sequence. We predict that the damage will span around the distance from Gimhae International airport to Ulsan airport. Thus, we implore survivors around Busan and Ulsan to evacuate.

In other words, the nuclear power plants will damage all of Busan and Ulsan.

However, unlike me who was worried, some people scoffed at the information and brushed it off as mere bullshit.

-I admire your effort to get rid of all survivors around the area in order to hog the supplies on the time shelter for yourself.

– What if it’s true? Wouldn’t a steam explosion be like Chernobyl?

-Then we will all become mutants.

-Would my dick get bigger?

-I think so, it will double in size to 3 centimeters.

– Hahahahahahahahahaha

I wondered why there were so many crazy people out there. They could laugh it off because they think that it was not their problem, of course. Well, I can’t blame them either. After all, in the apocalypse, one’s own survival was the basis of every action.

In a hurry, I simply threw all the stuff into the portal. The thing I currently did was no different than things I did back in D-day. I think it must be the fate of those who have an ability like me. I wandered around the survivors’ hideouts, threw the supplies they left behind into the portal, before hitting the road with Dingo in tow.

Naturally, zombies were lining up to eat us.

“I’m not in a good mood, so get lost!!!”

We ran away from the zombie hordes.