I’m the Only One with Powers in the Apocalypse – Chapter 39

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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I returned to the boarding house with an armful of supplies from the hardware store.

The residential complex was still swarming with human beasts, but since it was far from the hardware store, the road back, along the chicken restaurant, was safe.

Metal tools were heavy, though.

Damn it.

“Hoo.”

I put down the supplies in the yard and asked, “Soo-hyun, anything else you need?”

Hoon, sweating profusely, put down a heavy bag next to mine.

Soo-hyun rummaged through the bags and said, “Silicone, check. Electric drill, check. Welding tools and welding mask, check…”

She thought for a moment and then said, “…It would be good to have some plywood to properly seal things up, but there’s nowhere to get that, is there?”

…Plywood?

Where could I get plywood here…

Then Hoon said, “Um, Soo-hyun, I don’t know about plywood, but would sheet metal work? Not even sheet metal, but aluminum?”

“They have that?”

Hoon nodded. “Yes. Aren’t they all over the road?”

…!

Ah!

The countless cars blocking the roads!

We could just rip off the hoods, bumpers, and everything!

I grinned and looked at Soo-hyun.

Not bad, right?

Soo-hyun was also smiling at me.

“Then let’s go to the hardware store one more time and then check out the cars.”

“Let’s do that.”

There were chunks of metal, called cars, all over the road, why hadn’t I thought of using them before?

Even if we needed cars, there were plenty on the road. Even if we stripped a few, there would still be plenty left.

“What are you going to do with the car parts?”

Soo-hyun pointed at the stone wall. “Reinforce the walls so nothing can climb over.”

…A real fortress.

I had no idea how to do that kind of thing. I’d just leave it to Soo-hyun.

By the time we returned from the hardware store, it was lunchtime.

The women, back from the supermarket, were chattering and preparing lunch. They had brought back a ton of things, from detergent to candy, using shopping carts.

Lunch was pork kimchi jjigae.

A delicious meal – placing a piece of well-cooked kimchi and pork on a lettuce leaf, adding a whole clove of garlic and a dollop of ssamjang, the savory kimchi broth and pork juices exploding in your mouth.

“How are things at the supermarket?” I asked as I ate.

Ye-eun replied, “It’s good. It seems like the inline skating club members have been working really hard. The place is already crowded.”

“Crowded?”

The new mother smiled and said, “I even saw our neighbor there. It seems those inline skaters even came to our neighborhood.”

…Oh.

I made a lettuce wrap with pork and kimchi and asked, “How crowded was it?”

Ye-eun tilted her head in thought and said, “Excluding us and the inline skaters, about twenty or thirty people? More and more people are coming.”

…Oh…

More and more people were coming…

That meant even more people might come by tonight or tomorrow.

“Are the inline skaters still delivering supplies?”

Ye-eun nodded. “Yes. They said they’ll stop by every house that doesn’t have… those human beasts and give them a pack of ramen. Apparently, there are quite a few survivors.”

…Hmm…

…Wait…

That mid-sized supermarket had a lot of supplies and food.

When I first cleared it out, I thought it would be enough to feed the boarding house residents for a year…

…But there were already twenty or thirty people, and more were coming…

Those people, the ones who came out, probably weren’t everyone from those houses.

There must have been various circumstances, like families with children or elderly people, so it was likely that younger people or parents went out to get food while the others stayed home.

It was the first day, they were scared, and they wanted to see if it was safe.

…What would happen once they confirmed it was safe?

Wouldn’t everyone from those houses come out to get supplies?

According to Ye-eun, they were still sharing in an orderly manner.

The supermarket shelves were well-stocked.

…I didn’t know how long that would last.

…I needed to secure the hypermarket quickly.

I looked at Soo-hyun.

She was also looking at me.

“…Oppa. I’ll go to the supermarket after lunch. Can you and Hoon oppa take care of the cars on the road?”

…Soo-hyun had the same thought as me.

There were hordes of human beasts out there, and there was no guarantee how long this safe street would remain safe.

We had to stock up on food, no matter what.

If those things invaded while I was leveling up and the boarding house was surrounded, I would be in trouble.

I nodded. “Bring back as much as you can.”

“…Okay.”

Soo-hyun nodded.

It seemed like Ye-eun, So-eun, and the new mother hadn’t seen the YouTube videos yet.

Soo-hyun was quite perceptive.

Since I didn’t say anything, she didn’t mention the videos either.

Hoon seemed to be the same.

He was just diligently eating the kimchi jjigae with a slightly grim expression.

After the meal, the women went to the supermarket, and Hoon and I went out to the road.

We used the metal cutter we brought back from the hardware store to cut off hoods, bumpers, trunks, and doors from the cars and brought them back to the yard, stacking them neatly.

After stripping the parts from about one and a half cars, we were exhausted.

“Hoo, let’s take a break.”

“Yes, sir. Ha… ha…”

Bumpers and doors weren’t that heavy.

They were made of aluminum, so they were definitely light.

Even so, manual labor was still manual labor.

As the sun began to set, we felt tired.

“I’m going to go up and wash up. See you at dinner.”

“Yes, sir. Rest well.”

Hoon bowed to me at a 90-degree angle.

Hmm, that was a bit much.

He seemed even more respectful after seeing me clear out McDonald’s in one go.

Ah, whatever.

I already told him to speak comfortably.

It was his choice.

Ugh, shit, I was sweating like crazy.

I returned to the rooftop room…

…and it was clean.

…Someone cleaned it.

Soo-hyun?

Snacks and jellies were neatly stacked in a corner of the clean room.

It wasn’t an amount one person could carry.

…Whoever did it, it definitely wasn’t Hoon; it must have been the women.

They weren’t showing it, but they were taking care of me.

I took a refreshing shower and lay down on the blankets.

Ah, it smelled so good.

…Good smell?

I buried my face in the pillow and sniffed.

…They changed the pillowcase and blanket too.

The pattern and color were the same, so I didn’t notice.

They were really taking care of me.

I chuckled and took a deep breath.

I was tired.

I’d rest for an hour or two, have dinner, and then raid the residential complex.

“Hoo…”

As I lay there resting, I received a message.

[Dinner’s ready! Cheonggukjang! Hurry!]

It was from Soo-hyun.

I got up and went downstairs, and the pungent smell of cheonggukjang, enough to make a foreigner gag, hit me.

Hmm, it smelled delicious.

Huh? But So-eun, the new mother, and Hoon weren’t there.

“Not many people here?”

Ye-eun chuckled and said, “So-eun can’t eat cheonggukjang. The new mother can’t either. So they went downstairs with Hoon oppa to eat the frozen pizza they brought back.”

Hmm.

They couldn’t eat cheonggukjang.

Well, it happened.

I heard some people couldn’t eat chueotang either; I wasn’t a picky eater, so I didn’t understand.

I took a spoonful of cheonggukjang and asked, “How’s the supermarket? Did a lot of people come?”

Whoa!

Oh my god, this was seriously delicious!

The moment I put it in my mouth, the rich, thick, savory flavor of fermented soybeans exploded on my tongue, my mouth watering.

I looked at Ye-eun with wide eyes.

Ye-eun smiled and glanced at Grandma.

“This is really delicious, Grandma.”

“What’s so delicious about it? Eat a lot. Mmm.”

Then Soo-hyun’s eyes widened. “Oppa! What’s that on your hand?!”

“Huh?”

…Ah, shit.

I forgot to wear the Maintenance Gloves.

The women also looked at my hand with wide eyes.

Of course, they would, shit. They’d seen me every day, and now a tattoo suddenly appeared.

“Ah, this.”

What should I say?

“I was bored because I couldn’t sleep.”

…I didn’t know, shit.

Just blurt it out.

Even I didn’t believe it, but I couldn’t come up with anything better.

I said that casually and took another spoonful of cheonggukjang.

Mmm, so good.

Soo-hyun said, “Wow, oppa. I’ve never seen that design before. You have such skills? Did you do it yourself?”

…No.

The status window did this to my hand.

I couldn’t say that.

“Yeah.”

“What did you use? Does it wash off?”

Soo-hyun grabbed my hand and rubbed the back of it with her thumbs.

“It doesn’t come off? This isn’t a tattoo, is it? How did you do this in just one day?”

Ye-eun tilted her head and asked, “Did you use a permanent marker or something?”

…Please don’t be so interested…

I smiled awkwardly and nodded. “Yeah.”

Ye-eun smiled. “Wings and rings? It’s so pretty. So-eun would love it.”

Wings?

…I thought they were flames.

I guess they could look like wings?

…What wings?

They were clearly flames.

Soo-hyun said, “Good job, oppa. It’s pretty. Do one for me sometime.”

…Please don’t.

I didn’t dislike being complimented, but still…

The design was definitely unique and eye-catching.

The image of flames surrounded by overlapping rings, if it were painted on a canvas, it would probably stop people in their tracks.

The problem was that it was on the back of my hand.

I hated tattoos, shit.

I couldn’t say I hated tattoos after showing up with one, so I just tried to change the subject.

I pulled my hand away from Soo-hyun and asked, “So, how was the supermarket?”

Soo-hyun smiled and said, “There were so many people at the supermarket, oppa. There were about twenty or thirty in the afternoon, but when we went, it was like a normal weekend.”

“That’s right. It was like a weekend, not a weekday.”

…Hmm.

The people who went out in the morning must have brought their families back with them to get supplies.

And people from the houses the inline skaters visited must have come too.

…From tomorrow onwards, there would be even more.

…The supermarket wouldn’t last a week.

“What was the atmosphere like?”

Ye-eun shrugged and said, “It was… fine. It was nice to be around so many people after so long. People were greeting each other and smiling.”

…Hmm…

Smiling?

I looked at Soo-hyun, and she nodded.

“Yeah, it was like that. A woman said she wished there was more meat, and someone who already got some shared a pack with her. It was nice to see.”

She smiled as she said that.

…Hmm.

It sounded like a heartwarming story about neighbors sharing, but it wasn’t.

It meant they were running out of meat.

The supermarket’s stock was depleted in just a day or two.

The women from our boarding house probably brought back the most these past few days, but even then, it still wasn’t enough for us.

We had to secure enough food to last at least six months, just in case.

This wasn’t a situation where people could smile and be happy just because they could see each other again.

I nodded. “I enjoyed the meal. I’ll be going now.”

“Oppa, where are you going?”

I smiled. “Doing what I always do. I’ll be back soon.”

Soo-hyun patted my butt. “Mmm, be careful, oppa.”

Grandma gasped. “Goodness? A girl shouldn’t be patting a man’s butt like that in front of everyone. It’s indecent. Tsk, tsk.”

Soo-hyun stuck her tongue out. “No one cares about that these days, Grandma.”

I didn’t care about “these days.”

I was leaving.

“Thank you for the meal.”

“Mmm, alright. Come back safe. Mmm?”

I left the others, who were still eating, and went back to the rooftop room.

The lifting belt, two swords.

And the Maintenance Gloves.

Let’s go.

Time to raid.

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