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December 20.
The snow had completely stopped. I can see everything better now, but the temperature dropped even further; it reached below minus 25 degrees Celsius. The sun shone through the clouds, but the frozen earth did not change. And a freezing gust of wind blew from time to time, pecking at the survivors fiercely.
A harsh winter had just begun. Both humans and monsters had to work hard to survive. In particular, it was even harsher for the survivors who lost their supplies while moving to a new hideout. After all, they had to live with only tasteless Store bread and no water.
At the Auction House, rumors circulated that someone had eaten goblin meat raw and died after being ill for three days. Some laughed, and some expressed condolences. However, what they had in common amidst their different reaction was the fact that they quickly forgot about the rumor. Because in the apocalypse, you don’t have time to worry about others.
Regardless of that grim reality, I was floating around leisurely in the middle of a warm sea on a rubber boat.
“Sigh, they are really hard to catch…”
Woof-!!
Dingo barked a little as if sympathizing with my words. Our target was the bigmouth bass that floats around the boat. It did not resemble a real sea bass at all, but it was similar in size. The guy kept circling around the boat, ate the clam meat bait and just ran away.
“If you want to eat it, then bite the hook too!” It’s not like I’ve got nothing better to do than fishing. I’m only doing it since Da-jeong kept pestering me about eating fish. Since I already told her time and time again that catching tuna was impossible, she asked for just any big fish. That’s why I was working hard like this.
‘bigmouth bass, please, just get caught.’ I desperately wished. And not long after that, my fishing rod shook furiously. It seems like the god of fishing had heard my prayer. I immediately jerked the fishing rod upwards.
“Hiyaaap!!!” Since the place I was fishing at was quite shallow, splashes of water flew here and there, making Dingo rise to his feet.
This guy’s strength is no joke!
But I wasn’t a pushover either, I used all my strength to reel the lines in. And after an intense battle of strength, a bigmouth bass finally came up to the boat.
“Woooah! It’s huge.”
Is it about 85cm long?
As the name suggests, the guy had a large mouth, so the amount of meat it had wasn’t that much. But, still, with a fish as big as this, we would still have leftovers even after eating it to our fill.
I paddled and headed to the beach. After trimming the bigmouth bass, I summoned the portal and went back to Earth. There, I found Da-jeong, who was warming up her body near the campfire.
“Wow, did you catch that?”
“Yeah. This is a bigmouth bass. How would you like to eat this?”
“It’s cold, so please make Maeun-tang. But is it edible?” (E/n Maeun-tang = Korean spicy fish soup. Usually served with gochujang and other vegetables.)
“The stag beetles said it was not poisonous, so it’s okay.” Those guys were surprisingly able to identify poisonous plants and animals. Although they didn’t really like eating animals, to my thanks, they were not pretending not to. They would still eat them, but maybe while grumbling about it a little.
I placed a large piece of meat on a chopping board and cut it into several thick slices with a ceramic knife. Because the fish was fresh, it would be a waste to use all the meat to make Maeun-tang. So, I took 2 thick slices, cut it paper-thin and served it to Da-jeong on a plastic plate after sprinkling some soy sauce on top of it.
“It’s so chewy! It’s like the flesh is trying to fight with my teeth.” (T/N For those who wondered if this means good or not, I once saw a cooking directory, and Asians apparently like their fish chewy, while in Europe, they didn’t really use chewy fish… I don’t really remember if it’s Europe or Just France tho, CMIIW.)
“You are overreacting…” As I said that, I started to make the Maeun-tang soup broth. I chopped several radishes into a big chunk and put them on the water which was on its way to its boiling point. While waiting, I chopped some garlic and other stuff before mixing it with the Gochujang and fish sauce. Once the water boiled, I put all the fish and seasoning into the pot. Not long after, the smell of Maeun-tang filled the room.
Da-jeong, who had finished the fresh sashimi, picked up a spoon. “Ugh, I never thought I would be able to eat Maeun-tang in the apocalypse. I’m really happy that I met you, Seongho…”
She scooped out the broth, slurped it and trembled. Right after, she scooped out a big spoonful of hot pot rice, put ripe kimchi and the bigmouth bass meat on top of it with the chopstick, and devoured it whole.
“Ugh. It’s spicy and really delicious. When I was in the government shelter, the meal didn’t taste good at all, so I stopped eating it and only ate military rations my ghouls got.”
“It’s not good for your body, eating military rations only for a long time.”
“I know it really well, because I got constipated because of it. The poop just refuses to get out no matter how much I push…”
Why the hell are you talking about poop in front of the sacred breakfast table?
“Hey, you are eating sh*t right now, stop talking about meals!” After I spoke, I realized my mistake.
“HAHAHAHAHAHAH!! Don’t talk about meals while eating shit! So funny!” Da-jeong stopped eating and laughed.
“It’s a mistake. Just let it slide and eat.”
Only after few minutes passed did Da-jeong stopped laughing and continue to eat,
“Now that I think about it.” She swallowed the food inside her mouth and said, “We are kinda like newlyweds, aren’t we?”
“Newlyweds my ass…”
“Why? You don’t like me?”
“It’s not like that…”
“You already said I’m pretty, had a good body, and that I am delicious, so why?”
“Take that last word out. You asked me if you had any taste, so I just answered like that. It’s not literal.”
Isn’t it against the law to bring the bed story into the table?
There was nothing to do in the apocalypse, and it was cold outside, so it was common to just waste time by enjoying the view of the endless snow outside. Basically, we had too much free time and nothing to do. After doing it for a few days, I can understand why the fertility rate was so high back in the past.
After we finished eating, I sent the meal I prepared for Seokhyun through the Auction House. Then, as soon as I finished collecting the dishes, Da-jeong rushed at me saying that we had to exercise after eating.
“Stop. I need to go to the subway station ahead of time and do some scouting first.”
“Why? In case that bald old man does something funny?”
“We are not enemies, but we are not exactly friends. I should always be wary of everything.”
She paused and snapped her finger.
“Geom-in will be coming too, right? You are not going to kill him, aren’t you?”
“If I was going to kill him, I would have done so in the Battle Royale.”
“Well… that’s right. Then, are you going to cooperate with Geom-in? With that bald old man too?”
“That’s something I will decide once I talk to them. But as of now, there’s no need to fight them.”
Da-jeong’s expression turned strange.
“What the… You used to talk as if you were going to topple the government shelters.”
“Things have changed. Joo Seung-cheol died. and now we already have some guns with us.” Therefore, there’s no need to wait for a crack to appear anymore. If Joo Seung-cheol had still been there, he would have taken a part in the conflict that would arise in the future, but Seokhyun’s punches and knife cut the opportunity. Of course, it wasn’t Seokhyun’s fault. Because thanks to that, I now possessed plenty of supplies and firearms.
I went out after I was given a deep kiss by Da-jeong. The cold breeze that hit my body seemed to be cold enough to freeze my lungs, but somehow, I didn’t feel cold.
Just like that, I headed to Sindorim Station.
.
.
.
Jang Won-taek and Bae Geom-in waited for I Love Gimbap at a platform full of iron powder. In fact, they both had seen him before. The difference between the two was the occasion. While Geom-in met him inside Battle Royale arena in Incheon, and got threatened, Jang Won-taek had met directly with him and talked with him. However, unbeknownst to him, he had seen his face in the farming dungeon. Though, it’s debatable whether he remembered him or not.
Geom-in looked around the empty station nervously. This station, which used to be the busiest station in Korea, was now empty and filled with only cold and dust. Then, not long after, he heard footsteps from somewhere, and someone came down from the stairs on the other side.
Once Jang Won-taek saw him, he gulped. As expected, he was a fairly tall man. He was wearing a black stab-proof suit with a backpack and a bow slung to his back–the so-called standard equipment of survivors.
When the Geom-in saw him, he felt himself flinching. After all, he remembered the time when he was threatened with a gun and was ordered around without mercy in the Battle Royale arena.
‘It’s okay… it’s okay… nothing is wrong. I didn’t come here to fight, didn’t I.’ He calmed his mind.
Though, he still questioned what would happen if he fought against Gimbap under normal conditions. After thinking about it, he wasn’t convinced he would win, despite having multiple traits. Above all, his atmosphere was different from anyone he had met until now. The bloody atmosphere he had around him made him think it would only take seconds for Gimbap to kill a person. It seriously sent a shiver down his spine. It even made him wonder about whether he was the same person he laughed and talked with back in the game.
‘I… I am also one of the Four Stagnant Waters.’ Geom-in puffed up his chest and directed his gaze straight ahead. Meanwhile, I Love Gimbap’s indifferent eyes scanned him and Jang Won-taek.
“Let’s sit down.”
The three sat on the edge of the platform. At that moment, Jang Won-taek laughed. “We have met before, aren’t we?”
“Indeed. We met in the Farming Dungeon.”
“I met Da-jeong at that time… Hehe, to think the person right next to her was I Love Gimbap…”
“My name is Kang Seongho.” He nodded his head slightly. On the other hand, Geom-in tried not to forget I Love Gimbap’s real name after hearing it for the first time.
Jang Won-taek asked.
“I heard that the series of commotions caused by Seokhyun had something to do with Seongho, can you tell me about it?”
“Joo Seung-cheol is dead.”
“Oho… As expected.” The truth is, Jang Won-taek wanted to ask him how he could break past the sturdy bunker defense, but he knew best that it was a question which shouldn’t be asked here. On top of it, his short and simple answer revealed his intention about not wanting to waste time. If that’s the case, then he had no choice but to speed up the tempo a bit.
“Can I ask you what was in the bunker?”
“Rather than answering that, there’s one thing I want to ask you.”
“Please ask…”
“About the bunker around Hannam-dong, did you block the media from reporting it? I have never heard of it in the media.”
Jang Won-taek shook his head. “I didn’t do that. In our country, the media outlets are connected in some way with the big companies. After all, they are a family business, so there’s no reason to report it. It must have been a bit noisy in the internet community, but, as you know, it ended up buried because of the appearance of the first monsters.”
“In other words, you do know in advance about it, right?”
“I received a report…”
“Do you also know that there’s some mysterious force supporting Joo Seung-cheol?”
“I don’t…”
“That means, you also don’t know that those forces had infiltrated the countermeasure headquarters you made?” What Seongho talked about was the men in suits who had tried to catch Poor Man, who just wanted to provide information for the government. But of course, Jang Won-taek didn’t know about that.
“I only guessed roughly since the information was somehow twisted, but I couldn’t look into it because there were some circumstances.”
“I don’t mean to criticize you about it. What I want to tell you is that those guys know about our information. It’s not just normal information either, it’s our information which should be known only to the developer team of Survival Life.”
“Our information?” When Geom-in moved his head closer to Seongho with his eyes open wide, Seongho’s tone became lower.
“They even know our playtime, the last content we played before we quit, and the number of events cleared.”
“Even mine?”
“Aren’t you also one of us?” Geom-in unknowingly smiles at Seongho’s words. After all, by saying that, Seongho admits that he’s one of them, not an outsider. Meanwhile, Jang Won-taek’s expression was far from happy.
“If it’s the game record, only the developer team, which god only knows where they are, should know… So, whoever this mysterious force you’re talking about is, I don’t think they are the ones who made our world like this.”
“Even if they are not that powerful, they should be one of the strongest powers in the world right now.” Afterall, even if it wasn’t the case, guys like Joo Seung-cheol wouldn’t have survived until now.
Hearing Seongho revealing the information he didn’t know, Geom-in’s self esteem got hurt.
‘Should I also act outside the shelter?’ However, he shook his head because at the moment, it was too cold outside.
“I’ve just heard good information, so I’ll tell you one in return. The government didn’t only have shelter. There’s a spare in Incheon.”
“Oh, I know about that.”
“You know?”
“I also heard that the entrance to the time shelter on the Bucheon was half broken.”
Jang Won-taek was quite surprised when he heard it. After all, the only person who knew about it was Oh Seung-yeon, who went to Incheon. But he masked his expression well so Seongho couldn’t see it. On top of it, he also drew the conclusion that Seongho and Da-jeong were the couple who saved Oh Seung-yeon when she was stranded in the cold blizzard.
Jang Won-taek asked. “Then, it must’ve been robbed already?”
“I’m not sure… By the way, somehow, I felt that I was the only one who spoke about things in this conversation. I’m not mistaken, am I?”
In other words, since he had provided some information, Jang Won-taek must also provide it. If he offered him something which didn’t match the value of information he gave, he would stand up and leave right away.
“Okay. Let me tell you one big thing. The Republic of Korea is currently isolated from the rest of the world.”
As soon as Seongho heard that, he had a puzzled expression on his face. He was confused by Jang Won-taek’s statements, as the Chinese were able to come to Korea’s land.
“The Chinese came in unharmed, didn’t they?”
“People can come and go, but other things can’t. It was something we know after sending people to the shoreline over the past few months to observe. Isn’t it strange that, with so many nuclear power plants broken down in China, our west coast is still fine?”
“Come to think of it…”
Geom-in spoke at that moment, feeling he could not just listen.
“To put it simply, our nation has become something like a game server. Korean server, Chinese server, Japanese server, and other servers. People can enter any server they want, right?”
“Isn’t there a typhoon this year? A certain force that isolated the Korean Peninsula has stopped the typhoon. I’m not certain, but Jeju Island should have been devastated by it.”
Seongho’s brows furrowed as he remembered Dap Island in Masan. It was a few hundred meters away from the land, but not very far. However, there’s no monster swimming towards it. There were only monsters that occasionally respawn on the island.
‘Maybe the monsters can’t cross the sea.’ However, Da-jeong’s ghoul makes him doubt his own conclusion. After all, he had seen them swimming several times until now.
As he was in deep thought, a loud groan shook the station.
Gooooo-
“Huh?” Geom-in, who was looking at Seongho, quickly rose to his feet. There was only one monster that could howl that loud. However, it’s a monster that cannot be seen on the ground.
“A labyrinth has been opened.”
Seongho also stood up.
“The location is near here.”
Labyrinth refers to an overly complex and large-scale underground dungeon, which was one of the final contents of Survival Life. Unlike normal dungeons which could be cleared easily, most labyrinths could only be cleared after people wandered in its darkness for several days.
Since the labyrinth was now open, it wasn’t the time to talk or have a leisurely conversation with each other. “Let’s wrap it up here today. Can we do the unfinished things tomorrow?”
“At the same time here.”
The two made eye contact and nodded. Jang Won-taek went up first, meanwhile, Geom-in fidgeted. With the labyrinth now opened, Seongho and the other two will surely enter. He also wanted to join them, but he didn’t have the courage to ask. However, entering with his subordinates wasn’t an option either, as they were nothing compared to the danger of the labyrinth.
It was Seongho who broke the silence between them by taking something out of his backpack and throwing it at Geom-in.
“I brought it here because I remembered you. Eat.”
“What is this?”
“You will find out when you open it. I’m sorry for back then. I was trying to save you, so I had no choice but to act harshly.”
“It’s okay, I know…”
After Seongho left, Geom-in went into the bathroom and unwrapped the cloth given by Seongho. Inside, a lunch box can be seen, filled with thickly sliced smoked fish and meat. There’s also a large chicken leg, which he never saw before, grilled with a delicious seasoning
“Hmmmm, what is this…”
Geom-in, who had been confined in the shelter and only ate tasteless meals 3 times a day, ate the lunch box in a hurry.
“COUGH COUGH COUGH.” Some of the food got stuck in his throat because he ate too quickly, as it was very delicious beyond words. It was so delicious to the point he even wondered if he should put Seongho in his grand plan.
‘There is no reason there should be only one ruler, right?’ Seongho deserves to stand by his side.
“…” But as he was eating, he somehow felt sadder and sadder. Eating something like this in the apocalypse made him feel that power to rule was not something that had to be grasped no matter what. And contrary to him, who struggled to gain power, Seongho was far ahead.
‘No… he saved me in the Battle Royale.’ Geom-in felt that it was no mistake that he reached out his hand to ask him to go with him. As proof, isn’t he eating the lunch box that Seongho himself bought?
“It’s delicious.”
Geomin felt better for no reason and smiled.