Stagnant Water of Apocalypse

“But, wouldn’t it be better if Geom-in came too? I mean, while at it, we can invite him to the forest shelter.” Da-jeong said. However, even though her words sounded like she was being considerate, her underlying tone didn’t sound the same. Looks like she was protesting about being forced to build the cabin alone.

“We can’t let him enter yet. After all, that guy is a shelter fanatic. I bet he will never want to go out again once he goes in there.” I shook my head.

“Well…yeah, that guy is like that, isn’t he?”

“That place is a fantasy world. He can build his own shelter and procure supplies whenever he wants. On top of that, there’s also a computer there, so it must be heaven for him.”

As I said that, I received a request from Jang Won-taek’s Chief of Staff, Lee Beom-seok. Seems like they couldn’t imagine the appearance of the monster just from listening to my explanation.

-This…Sniffles monster, can you please draw its appearance? And can you please mark where the thorns came out from? We’ll pay for the information. The more detailed the description, the more we will pay.

I gave in at his demand and drew a picture in my notebook before giving it to Da-jeong,

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAH!! What the hell is this! Did you just draw a stickman?? Hahaha!”

Well yeah… Whenever I draw a humanoid figure, for some strange reason it always becomes a stickman.

“It should be enough, though.”

“He’s someone who used to work for the government, so he should want to know the details.”

In other words, he’s a picky bastard.

As I was about to give up, I remembered that the scarabs were good painters. If they draw them nicely, I could sell it at a high price…

When I told Da-jeong about the idea, she pinched both of my cheeks. “Isn’t that what’s called ‘exploitation’?”

“I mean, I did get points, but the scarabs got to feel special, didn’t they? So it’s a long-term benefit for both of us.”

“Yeah right.” Da-jeong snorted. “You just want to earn points using their skill.”

It’s true that I am greedy, but that’s too blatant. But to be honest, there’s a better way to earn points rather than using the scarab’s drawing skill. It was by selling everything I could find inside the portal. The sea, forest, meadow, valley, and the snowy mountains were all overflowing with things that could easily be converted into points. If I process them and sell them, I would be swimming in points to the point I would not have to be envious of Da-jeong.

The problem is, it takes too much time. I only have one body, so slaughtering wild boars all day would be a waste of time. Therefore, I would have to hire someone I can trust.

For now, let’s focus on the task at hand. Before the two arrive, I must finish securing the picture and figure out Sniffles’ weaknesses. Of course, if we have an anti-tank weapon, I wouldn’t need to know any of its weaknesses. But I still need to know it because there would definitely be a time where the situation would force us to fight it directly.”

“Will the flame can work, I wonder…” Judging by its powerful regenerative ability, it seems that it wouldn’t be able to kill it.

My thoughts were only broken when Da-jeong found a printer in the corner of the cave. “Is this working?”

“It should be.” Though, I wasn’t sure because I had never used it from the time I looted it. From the corner of my eyes, I could see Da-jeong fiddling with a smartphone.

“Let’s take a picture with this and print it to try.”

“Wait a minute.”

When I turned on the printer, the light all over the cave flickered. This device consumes a lot of power… Fortunately, the generator did not go out.

When I connected the printer and the smartphone via Bluetooth, Da-jeong stuck next to me.

“Quickly!”

Taking pictures was something I didn’t enjoy, but let’s get along with her wish for now. After pressing the shutter button and the print button, the photo was printed out. Da-jeong looked at the paper and a smile bloomed on her face in the next instance.

Anyway, with the printer working fine, the next step was decided. I will take a picture of the Sniffles and print it out so the scarabs could draw it. At the same time, I could try using the dimensional wall and the dimensional prison against the Sniffles. Though, I doubt dimensional prison will work, as Sniffles was too tall to the point it can’t seem to fit into the dimensional prison door.

I gathered the materials and made a flame can. Let’s see how long this thing will fare against Sniffles.

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Attracting Sniffles was an easy task. We only need to walk or send something to an area near the main office and it will pop out. However, since it was so powerful, it was almost impossible to hold onto it. Among Da-jeong’s rank of ghoul, a grasshopper–the highest ranked ghoul, could not last even 5 seconds against it. Whenever it jumps and attacks, Sniffles’ long arm would grab its face and drag it away, and that’s the end of it.

Kiaaaaak-!!

When the grasshopper split in half and died, Da-jeong ground her teeth.

“Fuck.”

At that moment, I pointed the smartphone towards Sniffles and pressed the shutter. Once I printed it, I took it to the scarabs. Unfortunately, the only response I got was them tilting their heads.

“Have you seen this monster before?”

Shake-!! Shake-!!

It was also the case for the stag beetles as they also shake their heads.

So just where the hell does it come from?

For some reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling of it being made by someone. After all, its little bit of intelligence, as well as its appearance looked like it was something which was made using humans as the framework.

Anyway, taking advantage of the grasshopper taking the aggro, I was able to test various attacks. I shot bolts and guns into the Sniffles’ head and even threw a flame can towards it too, but all of it failed to inflict any significant damage to it.

And just as I expected, it couldn’t even enter the dimensional prison as it was too tall and only bounced off the portal. There was also a limit to blocking him with the dimension wall. Truly a formidable monster.

At this point, Sniffles had become cautious of me. Everytime it sees me from a distance, it runs away. If that wasn’t proof it had intelligence, I don’t know what is.

I wrote everything from my observation without any exaggeration to the drawing of the scarabs.

“I think it would be okay if we also draw a picture of it using its thorns. I should also draw humans here.” The later part was to express how big it is.

The three drawings and the detailed explanations were all crammed into a single A4 sheet, turning it into a comprehensive report. This end product could easily give me a good chunk of points from the government shelter.

At that moment, Da-jeong hugged me from behind and asked me. “How much will you sell it for?”

“500 points.”

At my answer, Da-jeong’s friendly touch immediately turned into a ferocious one.

“A complete scam! Die, die!” Da-jeong hissed.

“Keuukkk!! Your husband dies.”

Her hand softened at my playful words.

“Why are you selling it that high? If it is priced at about 50 points each, a lot of people will be able to buy it.”

“Once the government obtains this, they will surely sell the copies for 10 points each. The price I gave is meaningless. That’s why I sell it at a high price.”

“…I’ll give you points, so can’t you just give it to the government?”

She’s saying weird things…

“Selling it is fine no matter the price is, but giving it away is just plain stupid. Nothing is free in this world.” The maxim rang truer even more so in the apocalypse. My way of survival was that I had to always be vicious at all times because I didn’t know when the other people would answer my kindness with bullshit.

“I’m just saying this because I don’t want to see you getting sweared on again.”

Hearing her words, I realized that she had changed a lot. Back when we first met, my first impression of her was ‘There’s this kind of madman in this world?’ but now, she was wiser, to the point of giving me advice.

I could feel Da-jeong put more strength in her arms.

“If you ever meet someone who will surely treat your kindness with something else, you can do whatever you want. Better yet, I’m going to go ahead and kill them for you. But the government shelter isn’t like that, aren’t they? The people there just want to help survivors and make a better place for them in the future. So, you don’t have to be too strict with them.”

She still doesn’t know, but my judgment about government shelter was still on going. As of this moment, they were neither an enemy nor an ally to me. But her thoughts were not wrong either.

Shall I follow Da-jeong’s advice here, I wonder?

Thinking again, it doesn’t matter whether I’ll get 500 points or zero points here. Just think it was a price I need to pay for drawing the bigger picture. Afterall, what would happen to my reputation if I just stole from them every time?

“Fine, fine.”

Da-jeong grabbed me and kissed me at my answer.

“You thought well. Here’s a reward for the obedient child.”

Avoiding the incoming kiss, I called the government shelter and put the drawing in the auction for 20 points.

-Uh, looks like you uploaded it at the wrong price…

For some reason, I could see what kind of expression Lee Beom-seok made from his words alone. Just who does this guy think I am? A con artist?

-Just buy it before I change my mind.

– Oh, yes….

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“What a great drawing.” Jang Won-taek mused as soon as he saw Seongho’s report. His finger traced the outline of the monster called Sniffles as he could not contain his admiration. The degree of details contained in the drawing such as the monster’s delicate muscles and its bulkiness which seemed to be able to grow bigger at any given moment was surprising. He believed that even a professional artist wouldn’t be able to draw the same drawing with the same level of detail.

“Did Seongho graduate from art college?”

“I don’t believe so. According to information, he used to run a snack bar.”

“Snack bar? It doesn’t quite match the impression I have for him…”

“According to the members of Dot Island group, Seongho used to be fat.”

“Is that so?” Jang Won-taek asked rhetorically. “Anyway, this…Sniffles, it’s very different from what I imagined. If I hadn’t seen the picture, I would never have thought that it was this kind of monster.”

“I also thought the same. I only thought that the thorns could only come out of its arms.”

The fact that the thorns could come out from its whole body as well as its stretched parts make the expression of the two a few shades paler. On top of it, compared to the human figure which was drawn right next to it, the monster seemed to be almost 2.3 meters tall.

Jang Won-taek tapped the paper. “Is there a way to kill this guy in our current state?”

“Seongho said we need to use anti-tank firearms to kill it. However, pouring out a fire extinguisher will most likely incapacitate it. So, I don’t know whether he’s lying or not.”

“We will see that soon enough…”

There is no such thing as an unbeatable monster in front of modernization, the two of them believed so. If bullets were not enough, they could use grenades. And if the grenade was not enough, they could use better weapons to kill it. However, rather than wasting bullets on just one monster, it’s better to just do a single attack which does not tax their arsenal too much to kill it.

Jang Won-taek handed the paper to Lee Beom-seok.

“How much did you pay for this?”

“…I bought it for 20 points.”

“Huh? Did he mistakenly upload it at the wrong price?”

“I thought so too, but he said it himself, the price was 20 points.”

Jang Won-taek laughed at his aide’s words.

“Hehe, the sun will rise in the west tomorrow!”

Seongho was someone who had always tried to rip something out from them, so why did he suddenly change his mind? Of course, Jang Won-taek knew that wasn’t the case.

“Maybe it means that Seongho now has the same way of thinking as us?”

“I don’t think so. As you know, to judge someone’s psychology, a lot of factors need to be considered.”

“Yes.”

“We have to collect and analyze all of those things. Not only once or twice either. If we wait long enough, the reason will come out.”

“So for now, we will have to step back and see the reaction?”

“Request a couple more cooperation. We’ll see the response for those too. And every time, make sure we pay enough money to let him know that we don’t want to be his enemy, nor are we trying to do him dirty or something like that.”

“It seems like you want to walk together with him.”

“I am. Everyone needs to walk together, hand-in-hand in order to survive in this ruined world.” Jang Won-taek said vigorously. “There may be, no, there will be some quarrels along the way. But it’s only natural, since everyone will have ten or thousands ideas and thoughts in their heads. It would be even weirder if there’s no quarrels. But quarrels should not lead to a permanent separation. Isn’t humanity the prime example for being able to move while fighting and spilling a lot of blood along the way?”

It was his philosophy that had never changed at all ever since he stepped into the Blue House. He disagreed a little with Seongho’s radical way of doing things, but he could understand why he did that. Afterall, as someone whom the public branded as the “selfish bastard who didn’t want to share and took everything just for himself”, there must be so many people trying to put him down. When such groups of hyenas run around the meadow, the lions have no choice but to be aggressive. That’s how he keeps the group away from him and his pack. That was Jang Won-taek’s view of Seongho.

(Blue House = executive office and home to South Korea’s President)

Lee Beom-seok pondered his superior’s remarks for a moment, and then presented a following report to him. “It has been confirmed that the Japanese have settled on Dot Island in Changwon.”

“Dot Island, huh? Isn’t that where people from Seongho’s group used to stay? Did Seongho abandon the island?”

“I think there was some kind of agreement that took place shortly before they left. According to the information I got from the two high school students, there’s someone who comes from the royal family there.”

“Did they all come from the same family line?”

“We don’t know yet. We will know only when Captain Kim comes into contact with them.”

“He’s not a Captain anymore, he’s a Major.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

Not long ago, when Kim returned to the shelter, Jang Won-taek promoted him to the rank of Major. Others might laugh at his antics as the current time was an apocalypse, a time where law and constitution had died. However, it was still important to Jang Won-taek. The more people have a sense of belonging to the government shelter, the easier it is to form a force.

Jang Won-taek also wanted people who belonged to Kang Seongho’s pack to have a sense of belonging to the Government Shelter. After all, it would be much easier and more wonderful if they all become one.

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In the late evening, Seokhyun and Mikyung arrived in Gyeoryongdae. Once their contact came in through the Auction House, Da-jeong went out and brought them to our hideout.

“Lower your voice. That guy has a very good hearing.”

“So this is Sniffles, huh?” Seokhyun looked at the paper lit up by the glowstone.

Meanwhile, Mikyung said it was disgusting, closed her eyes and hid behind Da-jeong.

“It sure looks strong.”

“It’s really strong. Even after being hit by several bullets in the back of the head, it’s still fine. I think we have to use anti-tank weapons on him.”

“Have you tried fighting it in close combat?”

“We are trying to kill a monster here, not people.”

“I will test it then.”

Seokhyun jumped to his feet and I quickly grabbed his leg. “Hey, sit down for a second.”

No matter how good his immortality unique skill is, he needs more and more points after each revive. If he keeps dying meaninglessly, some time in the future, I am certain that something bad would befall him.

“Its regeneration is no joke. You know my ballista bolt, right? When I shot that guy with it, its wound closed up as soon as it pulled the bolt out.” I explained all my experience to Seokhyun in great detail. In summary, It’s a monster that is hard to fight either from a long distance or from a short distance.

“My ghouls can’t fight them too. I don’t think I’ll be able to last for a few minutes even if I use them all at the same time.”

“I don’t understand why such a strong guy is appearing now.”

Seokhyun tilted his head at Da-jeong’s remarks. “Back in the game, what monsters appear after the lizardmen?”

“It’s the trolls. Those guys also shoot thorns.”

“Thorn… it’s similar to this one.”

Come to think of it, trolls and Sniffles were quite similar. They both shared the characteristic of having long arms and had thorns.

Could it be that Sniffles was a terrible result of a fusion between several monsters and humans?

Well, I hope it was nothing but my imagination.

I snapped the picture from Seokhyun’s grasp with my finger.

“Paralysis poison doesn’t work against that guy, the flame cans aren’t very effective either. All we can do is open the bunker and use the anti-tank weapon stored inside to kill it in one hit before it can even regenerate.”

“You want me to buy time.”

“Yeah. It takes quite a while to open the bunker.”

“If it’s us, we can do it! Rapwi, let’s go crazy after a long while!”

When Da-jeong clenched her fist, Seokhyun grinned.

“It’s been a while since the three of us fought together.”

“Ah, by the way, Rapwi. I can now enter Seongho’s shelter.”

“How?” Mikyung, who had transformed into a sagging sack because of the Sniffles, crawled forward at that moment.

Da-jeong crossed his arms and pointed at me with her chin.

“That’s what Seongho’s level 30 additional effect is. He took the Da-jeong bus, by the way.”

“But, oddly enough, Da-jeong was the one who paid the bus fare.”

“Ah, ah, stop talking about that.”

“I want to see it…” Mikyung pleaded.

“I want to see it too. Duck, go inside!”

At their request, I opened the portal. Da-jeong walked through the portal and stopped once she was half way through.

“Voila! I can do this. Isn’t it great?”

“That’s great. But do I have to pay the bus fare?”

“Yeah. 100 points for every entry. However, there is no deadline. You can stay inside as long as you want.”

“Seems like, if you are inside and Seongho moves on Earth, you will also move huh?” Seokhyun said.

“You also need to do the quest quickly.”

“There’s a quest too?”

“Yeah. But It’s not that difficult.”

At that moment, Sniffles’ roar was heard from afar. Meanwhile, Seokhyun stood up saying he was going to pee. Since the bathroom was on the second floor, there’s no way he would get lost, so we let him go alone.

Da-jeong took Mikyung in her arms and asked. “My albino, do you want to go inside too?”

Mikyung nodded at the question.

“Inside, the supplies were huge. There’s a lot of spams, the number can fill a room the size of a bathroom!”

At that information, Mikyung looked at me.

“…Oppa, can I come in too?” There’s a tone of desperation in her question. I wonder what will happen if I say no here…

However, she’s someone who had come all the way here just because of my words, so how can I be that cruel?

“Sure, you can.”

Mikyung’s expression brightened up, and she lifted her head and looked up at Da-jeong. Da-jeong hugged her like she was cute and whispered.

“Let’s all go in and have a crazy sex party.”

“I, I don’t know about that…”

“Hey, I can hear everything, so stop talking nonsense.”

The next morning, we went into action. The zombies of Da-jeong entered the main office to kite Sniffles out, and as expected, within a few minutes, they all turned into pieces before the last one broke through the window with Sniffles in tow..

“Wha…” A shriek escaped from Mikyung’s mouth who stood behind me. It’s natural for her to be afraid. Afterall, it will be her first time fighting a battle like this.

“You don’t have to be nervous. Just remember, never get too close to the monster at all cost, even if Seokhyun or Da-jeong are in danger. I will be the one who rescues them, understood?”

“Y-yes. I will do it.”

Sniffles, who appeared under the morning sun, seemed a little taken aback when it saw us around him. Seokhyun quickly stepped forward and pulled down his panties before putting his hands on his waist.

“Nice to meet you! I am Rabbit Pwincess!”

KIaaaaaakkkk-!!

Sniffles opened its large mouth and roared, giving us a good morning greeting.