Stagnant Water of Apocalypse

Chapter 175: Living Apart (1)

“So to speak, Battle Royale is like a game of stealing chairs. Only one person will survive; the rest will die.” (Chair stealing game : https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musical_chairs)

“It’s a bloody event, huh?”

“It is.” I nodded. “The event will take place after the appearance of owlbears. I don’t know the exact details of the width of the battlefield, but I estimated it to be around 1 neighborhood.”

Jang Won-taek thought deeply about something and said, “Is there any place where Battle Royale events would not happen?”

“There is. For example, inside the dungeon. And the space inside the portal that we usually enter.”

“Hmmmm… There aren’t that many dungeons around, so it’s difficult to utilize it…”

“What about the battlefield? In the last Battle Royale, monsters were acting like walls around the battlefield while slowly gathering closer and closer, is that the case this time too?” Hyunwoo asked, but I did not answer.

He didn’t answer my question earlier, so why should I?

Instead, I looked at Jang Won-taek and said, “This Battle Royale does not form a separate battlefield. Instead, our stats will be sealed until the winner is decided. The additional effect will probably be the same as before; Only the first additional effect of your unique skill will be usable.”

Jang Won-taek’s eyebrows furrowed at my words.

“In other words, if we don’t finish the Battle Royale event, will we continue to be weakened?”

“If someone comes in from outside, the Battle Royale’s time will be extended. If any survivors, which were already inside a battlefield, runs away, the pursuer would be given a special skill, and traces of the fugitive would be visible to them. They would be hunted down and killed.”

Both of them let out a sigh.

“What a brutal event…”

I nodded. Though, there were still things I didn’t tell them yet, but it wasn’t a great setting.

“When the battlefield was established, if the number of people was reduced to one, they became the winner. The reward is probably a resurrection scroll plus alpha. Like a skill expansion box.”

“It’s definitely tempting.”

Hyunwoo stroked his chin.

Has he already filled his 10 skill slots?

Jang Won-taek laid himself on the chair and folded his arms. His agony was apparent from his scrunched forehead.

“So, there’s a reason why you asked us to delay the opening of the shelter, huh, Seongho? But for us, it was an inevitable choice. Because I had to declare that the corrosive disease was gone.”

I shrugged.

“And you know it’s a mistake right? Because of your move, more than 100 people must disperse. Even if their goal was just to survive, they would ended up as a murderer no matter what. And the real murderers would then came out, and the massacre starts. Colleagues, lovers, family, they all would be killed.”

“…so are you saying that there is no such thing as true harmony in this apocalypse?”

Jang Won-taek asked, and I nodded. “It’s the default setting of the game; It forces people to constantly fight. When the Battle Royale event is over, the number of shelters standing around Korea will be reduced to less than half. A lot of supplies will also be looted.”

“It’s okay, because I’m going to keep this place safe.”

Hyunwoo pulled the pistol slide for nothing.

Whatever floats your boat, I guess?

As I was about to get up, Jang Won-taek erased the status board.

“May I ask where you will be? We need to mark that place as a must-avoid area.”

“You’re gonna need to avoid three places, though.”

“So, aside from Geom-in, you are all participating?”

“Yes. After all, the more resurrection scrolls we have, the better.”

When I pointed at three pictures of the map, Jang Won-taek pointed to Bukhansan.

“Is it okay if I go up the mountain alone?”

“If you are alone, the event will not start. There should be at least three people around the area.”

“If that’s the case, I wouldn’t know whether the events on the surrounding battlefield are over or not, so I can’t go down without thinking…”

“It’s good to end the battlefield with minimal damage.”

Everyone doesn’t want to be a victim, so there will be all kinds of nonsense in the Auction House. Better not to believe any words written there.

Jang Won-taek sighed.

“Anyway, to avoid this Battle Royale, we have to wait for the dungeon to appear.”

“You will have to go in and wait for quite a while. But if Battle Royale doesn’t end, you will be in trouble.”

“Yeah… this is more troublesome than I thought.”

I stood up at that moment. Looking at me, Jang Won-taek said, “Are you leaving already?”

“It seemed to me that things had stabilized enough… You wouldn’t ask me for another cleanup, would you?”

Jang Won-taek smiled faintly.

“I want to hold on to you more, but I have no choice but to let you go since I’ve made a promise. But aren’t there people who are related to you here? For example, Hyung-jun…”

You make me feel sorry for him… But as long as Hyung-jun hyung decided to be a part of this place, there’s nothing I could do other than just wishing him to be safe.

“I’ll take care of informing him myself.”

Aside from Hyung-jun hyung, there’s also the two troublemakers who decide to become a part of this shelter. However, after they joined Hyunwoo’s assault team, they didn’t even show their nose to us. So I wouldn’t bother either.

I left the office and looked for Hyung-jun hyung. He was living with his new girlfriend, Yoo Ji-hye in their dormitory. At first glance, she was a kind and gentle person. However, according to Hyung-jun hyung, she had suffered a lot because she was a non-combatant and lived alone. Without even being told, I knew what kind of hardship it was.

“Hello.” Fear was mixed in her eyes as soon as I greeted her. She had lived with unfriendly people and heard all sorts of gossip about me. So, it’s inevitable for her to have a stereotype for me. Even if Hyung-jun hyung explained it, she doesn’t want to believe it. Well, it’s unavoidable. I haven’t been living a clean life either.

Hyung-jun hyung went out into the hallway, stood in front of her and greeted me.

“Uh, Seongho, what’s going on?”

“The Battle Royale event will start soon…Here, take this.”

When I handed him a piece of paper, he grabbed my hand.

“Sorry. You always take care of me like this… I should have been there too…”

The last sentence almost sounded like a whisper. Probably, he thought I wouldn’t be able to hear him.

I grabbed Hyung-jun hyung’s forearm and answered, “Please contact me anytime. I will never betray you, Hyung.”

“Uh, yeah… Sorry, and thank you again. Anyway, see you later.”

“Yep.”

As I was leaving, I noticed that my new sister-in-law’s stomach was slightly bulging as she turned to the side.

She’s not pregnant, isn’t she?

I tried to ask Hyung-jun hyung about it, but I bit my mouth. I think it wasn’t wise to probe deeper into something which I didn’t think I would willingly take care of.

I said goodbye and went out to clean up our dorm. Since there was no one there, it was mostly clean; I didn’t have to do many things. After throwing some luggage into the dimensional warehouse, it was over.

“Now, I just have to wait for the Battle Royale event…” Me, Seokhyun, and Da-jeong have already agreed to take on different areas. No one will come to us because the Korean Shelter had revealed the location where we would be. It would be nice if the Battle Royale ended just like that, but there were always variables. Such as the people who are trying to run away being mixed in the event.

“It would be better if no one came, but…” I wanted the resurrection scroll and plus alpha as a reward. So, I just have to stick with the situation and act accordingly.

I left Yeouido and headed for Gimpo Airport.

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When I entered the shelter, everyone was busy working. It turns out that they were building a power grid under Yoohyun’s supervision.

“It’s not a big deal, Hyung. We’re just installing some lights and laying it out in each hut. I also took out the wire to the outside and installed an infrared detector.”

“It looks great enough to me.” Drawing power from a single solar generator can be done even by a novice like me. However, only Yoohyeon could connect several of them to form a power grid.

When I praised him, he got excited and took me around the spacious shelter.

“I want to install a refrigerator in the middle of the shelter, but it consumes quite a bit of electricity. I think we need to generate hydroelectric power in the valley first before proceeding.”

I was surprised.

“Is that possible?”

“It is… but to do so, we need a lot of material.”

“Just speak. I will bring you everything you need.”

As night fell, LED lights were lit all over the shelter. Even when it advertised our location, the amount of monster attacks were less than what we got in the daytime at our previous location. It was due to Da-jeong’s werewolves, which roamed around the shelter. There is also the fact that our shelter is hard to find, but that’s another case.

But she said that she couldn’t do it for a prolonged time, as there were times where she had to stay in the real world for quite a long time.

“If we make it dark, we have to live an uncomfortable life, but we’ll be attacked by fewer monsters. After collecting opinions, everyone said that we should keep the light bright.”

I’m sure the local monsters will love it if it’s bright like this. But, this shelter was different from the old cave shelter. We have enough power to defeat all kinds of enemies invading.

Geom-in took me along and introduced the hut base.

“We are going to build a total of five huts. Two people will share one hut. The rest will be used as a warehouse.”

“…But why is my and Da-jeong’s hut all the way in the back?” It is nice to have a view of the sea…but why?

Geom-in scratched his head at my question.

“Yeowool complained that you guys are too noisy during the night…”

Damn… To think such a thing was the problem…

Geom-in said that he would dig a toilet in each hut and connect it with a water pipe.

“I’m going to put the computer down. Configure a NAS system so that we can watch movies or dramas at any time.”

“Can we play too, in our hut?”

He scratched his head shyly.

“Of course.” I have secured hundreds of terabytes of content. It also had been backed up several times, so we wouldn’t be bored for a while. It’s a luxury that could only be enjoyed here.

As the night deepened, we gathered in the middle of the shelter. Even when we lived separately, it was an unspoken rule that we had to eat together. In addition, there were several rules that must be followed, such as not using firearms recklessly. If they just stick to those few rules, I have nothing to ask anymore.

“What’s on the menu today?”

“We are going to eat roast pork. Jiman-ah~ Can you please bring some vegetables from the garden?”

“Okay.”

The group members except the three stagnant water take turns to cook the meals. They decided so probably because there were many times when we were not in the shelter.

Sooyeon cut the thick wild boar meat on the chopping board with a cleaver. Then, she moved it to the barbecue grill on top of the open fire. In an instant, a sizzling sound, caused by meat being grilled, could be heard around the area.

“Thank you for the food!” In the apocalypse, such luxury can only be enjoyed by us.

Everyone cheered and ate the meat, and I said quietly.

“The Battle Royale event is coming, who wants to participate?”

“…”

Except for Seokhyun and Da-jeong, everyone looked at me. Even Geom-in did the same. It was palpable that he didn’t have the confidence to do it.

“Then let me, Seokhyun, and Da-jeong go out and do the Battle Royale.”

“I really want to pass, but the reward is too sweet. They give you a resurrection scroll.”

Da5jeong wiggled her leg and I spread another finger.

“It will also give some random things. It would be best if we got a skill box.”

“How about the crime pardon scroll?”

Seokhyun asked, and I traced my memory.

“I don’t know about that. This Battle Royale will be over once we finish it.”

“What if I go to the next neighborhood after I finish my area?”

“If it is in progress, it can happen again, but you will not get more rewards.”

“It’s a shame.”

“We have to sleep today earky today, because we need to depart early in the morning tomorrow. As I said before, I’m going to Gimpo Airport. Seokhyun will go to Y university, right?”

“Yeah.”

Da-jeong pointed to her chest.

“I will be close-by with Seokhyun. At the Women’s College. Did you tell our locations to that old man beforehand?”

“Yes. He will inform the Auction House, so I expect only a few crazy people will come.”

“I hope only one person came…” Da-jeong said.

If there’s only one person around the college, the event will not be held. It’s an event that’s going to happen anyway, so it’s best to end it with the least amount of damage.

“A lot of people will die…”

“Well, it’s an apocalypse…”

The atmosphere became heavy in an instant. But it didn’t last long, as Dingsoon’s whimper broke it.

Mikyung, who moved with her blink to check while still holding onto her chopstick, trembled.

“Ba-ba-baby! Dingsoon is giving birth!”

“What? Already?”

Well, it’s been about two months since Dingsoon was pregnant, so it’s not strange that she gives birth now.

Sooyeon ran towards Dingsoon and quickly went into full doctor mode. Meanwhile, the rest of us were watching from the side.

Dingsoon gave birth to six wolves. They were all smaller than when I first saw the dingo.

“R-really cute···”

“They are looking for their mother’s milk…” Sooyeon said as she carried the pups to Dingsoon with gloved hands.

New lives were born in the shelter while a lot of lives would be forfeited in reality soon.

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Information about the Battle Royale event was released to the Auction House. There were many items to pay attention to, but the most important for the survivors was the location where the three stagnant water would be. It was Gimpo Airport, Y University, and Women’s University.

People at the Auction House were arguing that these three places should be avoided at all cost.

-Those three are people who have mastered the damn Battle Royale. If you want to die, just go ahead and come to those places.

-What about the people who originally lived there?

-If they don’t want to die, they have to run away.

-In a way, that’s intruding, isn’t it?

-Do you have no brain?

The conclusion was simple. Anyone must stay as far away from the three as possible. However, there were so many survivors in the Seoul area that it was impossible to avoid the battle. When the right information became known, hundreds of auction items came up. Most of the time, it was an item to tell people where people would be.

– No one should come to Nanji Park. I’ll kill anyone if you come.

– I came first, you idiot.

– Everyone, is there no one in Olympic Park? If you are, please go away.

– I’m there.

– Oh, please… Please….

Survivors from the provincial area, who noticed the uproar in the Seoul area, also began to scatter. Some went up the mountain, and some went out to sea by finding a rubber boat.

But there were comments that put them in despair.

-If you don’t want to stay locked up inside the Battle Royale battlefield, it’s best for you to finish the event quickly. If you just went somewhere without knowing anything about the area, how many people were there, etc., Who knows, maybe you’ll be forced to enter a battlefield, and hunted down by a survivor who’s armed to the teeth, ready to kill anyone in sight.

However, there’s a problem. Since the Auction House was an anonymous place, there was no way to believe anything other than the information provided by the Korean shelter. People belatedly tried to get a gun, but the Korean shelter promptly locked themselves.

-The firearms will only be provided to the essential personnel who were tasked to protect the shelter.

Of course, no one believed it.

While the Koreans were outraged, the Chinese who stayed in Incheon and Bucheon were surprisingly calm. After all, they didn’t believe any information from the Auction House.

After several months of fighting with Koreans on Korean soil, all that was left on them was hatred. To them, Koreans were nothing more than narrow-minded bastards with excessive territoriality.

The Chinese Alliance, located in Bucheon, came to this conclusion.

-Now is the perfect opportunity. It’s clear that the Koreans are scattered, so if we hit them, they won’t be able to do anything but panic.

The Chinese Alliance wanted to occupy Seoul. By doing so, they would have plenty of supplies, and if they’re lucky, they might even get a gun. They didn’t even care about zombie raids, they just rushed around and lynched the survivors.

And part of the Chinese Alliance entered Gimpo Airport. After passing through the empty runway and parking lot, they saw someone sitting on a chair in the waiting room as soon as they entered the half-collapsed government building.

One of the Chinese people who saw the man pointed his finger at him.

“It’s him!”

“Who are you talking about?”

“The bastard who killed Shenlong, The Witch of Shandong!” (P/n for those who forgot who Shenlong is, she’s the Chinese lady with the power to control wind)

“Should we say we are lucky?”

The Chinese people raised their weapons. Although the Chinese who came to Korea often fight against each other, they still hold their nationalism. If Koreans were the enemies, they would unite to one just to eradicate their common enemy.

Seongho, who was all alone, was a good prey for them. On the other hand, Seongho felt popular while watching a Battle Royale video with Dingo.

“Are you guys Chinese?”

He didn’t have any preconceived notions against them, but what separated Koreans from Chinese was that they dressed in shabby side. They also didn’t care about zombie raids and just kept pushing around.

“You guys, you better get out of here.”

“We don’t listen to anything that a Korean says.”

“Did you kill Shenlong?”

Seongho tilted his head.

“Are you coming from the same group as that woman?”

“No, but in terms of being Chinese people, we are like her friends.”

“What kind of bullshit are you spewing after coming to Korea?” Seongho shook his head. After confirming through Dingo that an owl bear appeared nearby, he was certain that it’s time for the Battle Royale event to happen.

He warned the Chinese one last time.

“Didn’t you read the information posted in the Auction House? A Battle Royale will begin soon. If you stay around me, everyone will die.”

“We have seven people with us, you are alone. What can you do?”

The guys were overconfident. All of them were armed with tier 1 weapons, which in Seongho’s eyes were nothing but trash.

“Do whatever you feel like. But, don’t resent me for whatever that will happen.”

Finally, the Battle Royale started, the stats went down drastically, and the skills were locked.

“Slot No. 1 .

But it doesn’t matter if you prepare in advance.

The Chinese also murmured as they felt that something was amiss with their status window.

“Is Battle Royale real?”

“Don’t worry, we just have to catch him.”

“Let’s go!”

“YES!”

The Chinese rushed to Seongho. Dingo started barking loudly, and Seongho opened the portal and took out his gun. What was in his hand in the next instance was a shotgun.

Shudder.

When the click from ammunition being loaded to the gun was heard, the Chinese turned over.

“That bastard has a gun!”

“Fall back!!!!!”

Seongho slowly pulled the trigger towards those who fell to the floor.

Bam-!!

The guns spewed fire, and seven people were killed in an instant.

Seongho checked the points he got and stood up bitterly.

“I already told you guys, you have to stay away from me if you want to survive.”

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