Stagnant Water of Apocalypse

Sir Chocolate Dip, if you are hungry or starving, better eat or drink something. Don't donate $50 to us, though, I really appreciate it.

That raised the Jar of Greed to $55 which means 6 more sponsored chapters HAHAHAHAHAHAHSIIIIIIGHAHAHAHAHAHA.

And then, there's this guy on our discord server called Wynde, the nocturne cat. When he saw the donation count, which now became $1, he decided to donate $7 more to truly buy me coffee without giving me extra work.

Now the Jar of Greed sits on $8. But I know, it wouldn't stay that way for long… I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE THAT THIRSTTTYYYYYYYY.

Thank you in advance sir/madam donator.

We ran away southward as we followed the coastal road. Since we had caused quite a commotion earlier, I was pretty tired and wanted to rest. At that moment, I saw an old pension at one side of the street. I asked Da-jeong to do some scouting using her ghouls, and she confirmed that there was nothing dangerous inside the pension and around the area.

“I guess we really are the only ones around here.” Da-jeong spoke as she sat on the bench next to the pension and tapped the empty space right next to her. As I sat down next to her, she raised her legs and rested them on my thighs.

“Just so you know, I’m going to rest here until noon.”

“Whatever…”

“My calves are sore, massage them for me please.”

“Why should I? Who told you to run around while wearing high heels?”

"WOW…. Do you know for whom I do it?”

“I mean, you don't have to be naked to lure those Chinese guys, are you?”

She panicked and tapped my thigh with her leg.

"You saw it?"

“Until the moment you enter the alley.”

“So, you don’t know what I was doing inside, huh?”

“I don’t know.”

“Actually, I was having a violent sex with the Chinese guys…”

I know better that it did not happen. Though, it looks like the ‘violent' part really does happen, accompanied by a barrage of colorful words as the icing on the cake.

“Anyway, thank you. Thanks to you, I got all the oil.”

As I slowly gave her calves a massage, Da-jeong coughed to mask her embarrassment and laid herself down. But that only lasted for a few seconds, before she suddenly jumped up and folded her legs.

"But… It's so cold…”

Well, even for me, who has a cold resistance item, still feels the cold of the strong sea breeze, so naturally she would feel even more so. I opened the portal and handed her a long padding and sneakers.

“Once we’re inside the pension, I will make a fire.”

"Okay."

She took off her coat right in front of me, put on the padding, and curled up. Now, she looks like a caterpillar, curling up like that.

"I am hungry. Do you have anything delicious?”

“Because it's cold right now, should I make you a soup dish?”

Da-jeong jumped up at my word .

“I like anything which has the word soup in it!”

"Sure… you love all kinds of food, huh?"

“Ummm… the only ones that I didn't like are probably dishes made of monster meat? Rapwi ate it, but I don’t think I can…”

When we're traveling together, he doesn't do that, as I told him not to. But it looks like he does that when he's with Da-jeong, huh..

Da-jeong murmured that Rapwi was utterly insane.

“I mean, I was fine with eating gryphon meat since they look like birds. But goblins and kobolds? Ugh… I can't even imagine eating their meat…”

“Just don't eat them even if you are fine with their looks. Their meat is actually poisonous. Seokhyun may be fine, but if we eat it, our stomach will hurt a lot.”

“You know? When I was with him, I even wondered if I should eat that tasteless Store bread.”

“But, wasn’t it fun to be around him?”

Unexpectedly, Da-jeong shook her head. “I also like to do crazy things. However, once or twice was enough for me. I can't do it everyday. That guy is always full of energy and wants to keep doing crazy things. I also want to rest.”

Ohho… It seems like there's a difference between 100% chaos and 90% chaos.

Da-jeong rested her chin on her hands and sighed. “He’s a fun guy to be around, but it’s too much of a burden to go with him everywhere. Seongho, you are the perfect one for me.”

“When he's with me, he's actually quiet.” He didn't do anything and did whatever I told him to do.

Da-jeong opened her mouth at my words. “What the… Are you saying that you like him more than you like me? What is this favoritism!”

“You are loud! What do you want to eat?”

“Ummm… Can you cook jjamppong?”

“Nothing is impossible.”

“Tangsuyuk too.” (T/N: Tangsuyuk is Sweet and Sour pork.)

“You are greedy.”

“Oh, you know that Tangsuyuk tastes best when the sauce is poured over it, right?”

Sorry?

Tangsuyuk with its sauce poured?

That's heresy. I can't stand it.

“Tangsuyuk tastes best when you dipped it in the sauce!” As I declared, she jumped off the sofa like a frog and leaped at me.

“HERETIC! It is war!”

(T/N For those who didn't know what this is about… This is the Korean version of pineapple on pizza war or mint choco vs regular choco.)

Bam-!!

We rolled around the living room. But far from blood and bruises, our fight only creates a pleasant and subtle atmosphere. However, Da-jeong's smell of sweat was so overwhelming to the point where I had to frown.

“Let’s wash up first before we eat. You smell so bad.” I pushed her face away with my hand.

“Is that how you treat a woman? By calling her stinky?”

I wanted to ask if she was really a woman based on her shameless act, but since I seemed to have said something a bit too much, I swallowed my question back. I mean, there should be a reason why she insisted on wearing uncomfortable clothes and high heels in the apocalypse, right?

When she sniffed her armpits, she instantly frowned. She then sat down on the floor and looked at me with a puppy stare.

“Aren you going to let a fragile girl like me wash my body with cold water in this cold winter?”

If the ghoul queen in front of me was a fragile girl, then I am an innocent kindergarten kid.

“Wait a minute, I'll get you some warm water.”

“Yes!”

When I brought a round barrel through the portal, Da-jeong's eyes went round. "Oh my gosh. Why did you have this?”

“The more you prepare, the easier it will be for the future.” As the water starts boiling, I put it in the bathtub before also pouring cold water to set the temperature.

Da-jeong threw her clothes off and slipped into her bathtub while I turned my head away. The barrel wasn't big by any stretch of meaning, but it was big enough for her body if she squatted down.

“Ah, I feel like my body will melt…”

“Is the temperature okay?”

"Yes. I'm so happy now. I never imagined I would be able to soak my body in warm water in the apocalypse.”

“While you are taking a bath, I will prepare our food.”

“Would you like to come over for a second?”

Da-jeong wiggled her finger at me. She wanted something, so I got closer. However, light-fast, she grabbed my neck and kissed me. I licked my lips and was barely able to back away.

When she saw my expression, she got angry.

"What? You don't want to kiss me?"

“No, not that.”

“Then what?”

“The smell of your mouth…” To be honest, it smelled like rotten fish.

Da-jeong shut her mouth and then poured water on me.

“There’s nothing I can do about it in this apocalypse!”

I simply scoffed and handed her a toothbrush and a toothpaste before heading towards the cave. To make jjamppong and tangsuyuk, a lot of ingredients are required, but I don't think it was a waste at all. Afterall, I was cooking it for a friend. On top of it, the amount of ingredients Da-jeong's ghoul farmed and handed over to me was quite a lot. Though, I don't want to ask where those guys get it.

While I was frying ingredients in a wok, I saw the scarab leader and one other scarab doing some strange things. They were gathered around a small device. That device shot out a nail at high speed and struck a piece of metal when the switch was pressed.

When the scarab leader looked at the trail, he waved his claws.

Maybe that device was an imitation of a firing pin hitting the detonator?

Meanwhile, two other scarabs next to them completely disassembled the live ammunition I gave them and measured the dimensions.

Aren't you guys good at using a tape measure?

“How is it going?” When I asked, the scarab leader came up to me and showed me three of his claws.

“Three weeks?”

Shake Shake.

“Will it finish in three days?”

nod nod.

It was amazing. Even if they know the blueprint of making live ammunition, I never thought they would be able to make it this quickly. However, according to the scarab leader, there's a high risk that the bullet will clog the muzzle if it was made with the materials currently available for us. I don't have a lot of guns, so if that happens, it will be a disaster.

“Is the original casing made of copper or brass… Anyway, do you need something similar?”

nod nod.

"Wait a second." I remember throwing something which shines like gold when I was looting a hardware store…

When I went out of the cave, Dingo and Ding-soon were nowhere to be seen. It seems like they were hunting in the forest, or maybe they're busy doing something else…

After scouring through the warehouse, I found a bunch of something which looked like brass.

“This is it.” It's worth the hard work sweating profusely on that hot summer day. I brought in a brass door handle as well as plumbing pipes to the cave and showed it to the scarabs.

The scarabs jumped up and ran towards me instantly. It seems that the problem with the material of the casing was a very hard obstacle for them to overcome in order to make the bullets.

“The metal composition will be different from the real brass casing…” Well, I couldn't hope for everything to be identical. As long as it can be used to shoot, I will be satisfied.

I poured the broth with joy and simmered the jjambbong. Then, the smoked warthog was cut into small pieces and fried in oil. The texture would undoubtedly be little different from the tangsuyuk from Chinese restaurants, but there's nothing I can do about it.

When I got ready and went outside, the first thing I saw was the bonfire burning in the garden. I think Da-jeong ordered her ghouls to put all the furniture in that fire. I went into the garden and handed the bowl to Da-jeong, who was warming her body around the bonfire.

Slurrrrrp-!!

“Ummm… it’s delicious.” Fortunately, it seems like it suits her taste. She drank the red jjamppong soup in a hurry before moving her chopstick towards the tangsuyuk.

After we ate, we leaned against each other for a moment, watching the sea beyond the bonfire. Out of nowhere, Da-jeong spoke, breaking the silence.

"Hey."

"What?"

“RIght now, a woman and a man are traveling together, right.”

"Yeah."

“They are close and they have a crush on each other. Do you admit it?”

When I nodded my head, she knocked me down, sat on top of me and roared.

“At the apocalypse! The two of them are together in a place with no one! But nothing happens? What kind of child fairy tale land is this?"

“Wait a minute, wait a minute.” I calmed her down. “Da-jeong, of course you are pretty and have a nice body. It's true that I want to hold you every now and then, I am also a man.”

“Then what is the problem? Your thing is already standing." She said as her hand crawled under my pants. "Wow… It's as big as you…"

“Da-jeong.” I grabbed her cheek with both hands.

She said as she pressed her body against mine. “Speak quickly. I think I'm going crazy right now."

“It’s about Seokhyun.”

“Him. why? Do you want to do 3P? It's a little bit early to do that.”

“No, not that. Seokhyun doesn't know that we're doing this. I'm afraid that this will make things between us awkward, I…"

“Haven't I told you already?”

"Sorry?"

She ruffled my shirt and frowned. “I already got permission to eat you. So, take off your clothes.”

“Come on, wait a minute.”

“What kind of man are you? Did you think I was talking nonsense when I said I will leave my stamp on you? I’m a woman who always fulfills her words.”

She looked at me, licking her lips with her tongue. It gave me goosebumps, like the gaze of a predator scanning its prey.

“You just need to stand still, I will take care of the rest. I will send you to Hong Kong.”

She's not going to bring a di*do and bang me, right?

Da-jeong's face came down and covered my lips with hers.

At that moment, I hugged her.

Even after we did the deed, nothing changed between us. Da-jeong is still the same old Da-jeong while I was still, well, me. Both of us are adults and we know how to control our emotions. We got up and prepared for our next trip as if nothing had happened.

Da-jeong asked me to open the portal and then hit her head at it as she tried to get inside.

“Hey, why is it that I still can't enter?”

“I don’t know.”

“You said the important thing is the heart. Are you thinking of another woman?"

I hastily denied it.

“Absolutely not.”

“Then why can't I enter? I also want to see the raccoons.”

“Because there are no raccoons inside.”

I can't let it pass any longer. It's really tiring to tell her that there's no raccoon inside. I went into the cave and begged the scarab leader. He meekly nodded his head at my words before the others followed suit. It's time to introduce them to Da-jeong. I took them out and showed them to Da-jeong.

"They are too big for a scarab…" Da-jeong got down on her knees and touched the carapace of the guys, and she was startled because the scarab leader pushed her hand away.

“They are kind of weird.”

“They are sentient scarabs. I get a lot of help from them.”

“You guys are sentient? What about this scarab theme…”

When Da-jeong was startled, the scarab leader scraped the floor with his claws and drew a picture. It was a picture of scarabs defeating monsters with swords and shields.

Da-jeong saw it and stuttered, as if she was shocked.

“Th-the scarab are drawing…”

"Didn't I tell you that these guys are sentient? They are even smarter and more capable than me. They can even make bullets.”

“AHA! So that's why you asked for a bullet manufacturing method from the Old Man… By the way, how did you guys meet each other?”

I told Da-jeong about my encounter with the scarabs. The more she listens, the more her expression becomes ambiguous.

“Even when you are that good, you’re being held captive by a mere goblin horde and can't escape?”

The four scarabs grew pale, having nothing to say.

I defended them. “They don’t have enough power. The goblins lock them up, throw materials at them and threaten them.”

“Then this is a scam.” she said in a higher tone than before while moving her eyes to the hero in the scarab's painting while the scarab leader secretly erased the picture with his claws.

After the guys left, Da-jeong grabbed me by the collar. “I’ll take you on a bus from now on, so fasten your seat belt, okay?”

“What are you going to do?”

“From here until Seoul, I’m going to beat all the monsters there and leave them one breath away from death. You will take all the last hit.”

“You want me to level up?”

“Yeah. Once you level up to 30, you will get two additional effects, right?”

She's really determined… It's even scarier since she really has the ability to do that. However, there was something I needed to do here before returning to Seoul.

“I’m sorry, but we aren't returning to Seoul now. I have to participate in an event here.”

“What event?”

“Battle Royale.”

Da-jeong frowned upon hearing that.

“It’s the last event that remains.”

In this event, all weapons will be temporarily gone, and our stats would also be capped. Back in the game, users were reluctant to participate because the character would be deleted if they did not become the final winner.

You can't just throw a character away for an event, right?

There were only a few people who took it seriously, including me. After dying and dying and dying, I finally came up with the optimal farming route and survival strategy.

Even though I explained it like that, Da-jeong could not hide her trembling voice.

"Wouldn't you really die once you die in the event? It's different from simply fighting monsters. No matter how good your abilities are, they would all be limited by the event, so what’s the use of it?”

“It's just a guess, but I think unique skills wouldn't be disabled.” This is a conjecture I drew based on the fact that unique skills don't exist in the original game.

“Are you going to bet your lives on that?”

“No one knows Battle Royale as well as I do. And there are only Chinese people here.”

"Ah…" Da-jeong realized something then and looked at me. “The Chinese don’t know much about the game, much less about the Battle Royale event, so you’re going to go in and take over.”

"That's the way I've been living so far."

If I went to Seoul and did the Battle Royale event there, I might have to kill someone I know. It will be a bit troublesome.

But Da-jeong's eyes lit up when that Idea entered her head.

“If we go to Seoul, we can kill all of those people!”

“Some people are not going to participate. And if we meet someone we know on the battlefield, it’s a bit…”

Of course, It's not really the end for me since I know the bug which could get people off the battlefield. But since the success rate wasn't 100%, I thought I would just participate in a place where I knew no one.

“Didn't the Chinese know you? They must have seen you stealing the oil.”

“Stealing? It's just a transfer of ownership. From the government to me.”

“Well, I'm sure they didn’t think so. If they see you, they'll run at you with their weapons on the ready.”

“And they'll be massacred.” There's another reason why I want to participate in the upcoming Battle Royale event; it was the reward. After Da-jeong fell asleep last night, I went into the cave and checked the video. The reward was a character resurrection ticket.

The reason I forgot this was because I died so many times back in the game. It was most often because I get caught in whatever crazy things Rapwi and Da-jeong do. And since we all start anew together, we have no choice but to leave the resurrection ticket in the warehouse and forget about it.

Da-jeong's eyes widened as she heard my words.

“The reward is a character resurrection ticket? So, doesn't that mean we will be able to resurrect even after we die?”

“Uh yeah. Isn't Seokhyun’s unique skill precisely that? Though, what we will get will be a one-off thing. Maybe…"

"Nonsense."

Well, we currently live in that kind of nonsensical world.

I must win the Battle Royale event at all costs.

For sure.