The Apocalypse Has Been Downloaded – Chapter 3

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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“Uh, hello…”

“Hi…”

The woman next door greeted me shyly. This was the first time I’d spoken to her since the day I moved in.

She wore pajama pants and a pink zip-up hoodie. She was small and slender with not much flesh on her bones.

Her hair wasn’t messy, so she must have washed it today. She smelled nice, too.

“Hee hee…”

The way she looked at me as she gauged my reaction seemed almost fearful.

I maintained my vigilance, and gripped my baseball bat tightly. I had initially approached her without much thought since I was relieved to find another living person, but now, as we saw each other face to face, all sorts of unpleasant scenarios flashed through my mind.

She could be an Awakened like me.

According to the messages, about one in a hundred people Awakened, but I couldn’t blindly trust that information.

It had been three days since the world ended, so she might also be an Awakened.

‘Based on her reaction, she seems to be just a frightened woman.’

It was impossible to tell whether someone was Awakened just by their appearance.

If she had a class with strange skills like Human Sacrifice, she could be incredibly dangerous.

She might try to kill me while I slept.

I grew increasingly uneasy. It would be ideal if I had some way to restrain her, but that was the problem. I didn’t.

Moreover, she hadn’t shown any hostility yet, so if I attacked first, I might end up getting killed instead.

Right now, she was probably wary of me, too.

But what did it mean that she invited me into her apartment despite that?

Either she was confident, or she was simply terrified of being alone.

‘What if she wasn’t Awakened? What if she couldn’t even imagine having strange skills like me? She might just want my protection. She’s quite pretty. It could be a honey trap…’

The worst-case scenario among the various possibilities was that she was an Awakened with crazy skills, and she had set up a trap to use me as a sacrifice…

‘In any case, if she is Awakened, she’s likely stronger than me. It’s better to maintain a friendly relationship now than to act hostile right away.’

I couldn’t ascertain anything yet. So, I needed to probe and talk to her. She might not harbor any ill will towards me, and I couldn’t just bludgeon her unconscious with a baseball bat based on my assumptions.

‘If she’s really powerful enough to crush me, my unfriendly behavior might cause her favorability rating to drop.’

For now, I shouldn’t assume she had any malicious intent towards me. Since we were next-door neighbors, she could have broken through the partition wall at any time. She already had several opportunities to kill me while I was asleep, or was engrossed in my game.

“Um, would you like to come in?”

“Excuse me, but could I ask you a few questions before I come in?”

“Oh, sure.”

I questioned the still-anxious woman next door.

“Have you… killed any zombies?”

I didn’t expect her to answer truthfully, but I asked anyway.

“Oh, no. I haven’t stepped outside my apartment for the past three days…”

“I see…”

She said she hadn’t killed any zombies.

I couldn’t trust her completely, but she recoiled at the mention of zombies.

“Sorry to interrogate you like this, but are you sure you’ve been inside your apartment the whole time?”

“Yes… The messages said that the military was coming…”

She seemed to have been patiently waiting, following the instructions in the messages. It was hard to believe, but she didn’t seem to be lying.

I still didn’t let my guard down. I followed her inside to check for any traces left in her apartment.

Perhaps it was because I was overly cautious, she looked a little uncomfortable.

Her apartment was relatively clean. It showed signs of being lived in, but she must have sprayed perfume because I couldn’t smell the rotting stench of the zombies from outside.

“Um, would you like something to drink? Please put down the baseball bat…”

“Oh, sorry. After seeing those zombies, I feel a little safer holding this.”

She brought out an apple juice from the refrigerator. I didn’t drink it. It could be drugged.

“Shall we introduce ourselves?”

“Yes. I’m Lee Eun-ji, from next door. I’m twenty-six.”

“I’m Jang Jo-joon, and I’m thirty.”

Twenty-six. Four years younger than me.

“Wow. Then can I call you Oppa?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. Uh, can I speak informally too, then?”

“Yes, Oppa.”

Being called “Oppa” was usually a pleasant experience, but not now.

Today’s “Oppa” could be tomorrow’s zombie, and just because she called me “Oppa” didn’t mean I could trust her.

For now, we were just survivors who had encountered each other. Survivors who might even end up killing each other…

If I met another survivor like this about a month into the apocalypse, we would probably point our guns at each other, or maybe shoot each other, first before talking.

It was only because it was still the early stages of the apocalypse that this awkward situation arose.

‘I need to find some clues in her apartment.’

There might be some bloodstains if she had killed any zombies. So, I needed to check the bathroom.

“Excuse me, could I use the bathroom?”

“Oh, sure!”

I hurried into the bathroom, baseball bat in hand.

“Hmm…”

I scrutinized everything, from the sink to every nook and cranny she might have missed, but the only blood I found was on a sanitary pad in the trash can.

“No traces…”

Had she meticulously cleaned everything?

I even checked the drain, but there were no bloodstains or anything.

To avoid suspicion, I flushed the toilet, washed my hands, and came out.

She was still sitting at the table, wearing a slightly awkward smile.

“Um… Oppa, are you Awakened?”

Eun-ji asked me if I was Awakened.

I decided to lie. I would test her without revealing my status. If she was Awakened, she might react differently if she knew I wasn’t.

“I didn’t Awaken. Nothing appeared.”

“Oh… I see…”

Eun-ji looked deeply disappointed and dejected.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Sorry. I just… hoped you were Awakened…”

“Really?”

“Yes… Awakened people have better chances of surviving than non-Awakened people. I guess I wanted to rely on you a little. Sorry, it’s not your fault you didn’t Awaken. I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up…”

“Well, it happens…”

“Thank you for understanding… So now, neither of us is Awakened… Hee hee. But let’s try our best to survive together.”

She offered me her hand with an awkward smile.

There might be a skill that would activate upon holding hands, but I couldn’t really refuse the handshake.

Her eyes looked so forlorn. I couldn’t bring myself to believe she was an Awakened hiding her powers.

It was just a gut feeling, but I took Eun-ji’s outstretched hand.

Contrary to my anxieties, nothing happened. I only felt her warm hand in mine.

“Yeah. Let’s do our best.”

As we shook hands, Eun-ji’s smile seemed to become a little less anxious.

She looked happy to have someone to rely on.

I still didn’t know if she harbored any ill will, but I decided to trust this smile a little. I couldn’t stay on edge forever.

Ultimately, I couldn’t survive this world alone.

“Eun-ji, do you have any family you need to take care of?”

This was a crucial question. If she had family, there was a high chance she would try to find them.

‘If they’re too far away, she might give up… but if they’re relatively close by, she might try to look for them.’

That would be troublesome. I could barely take care of myself, let alone help her find her family. I would have to either part ways with her or abandon her.

“No… I’ve been estranged from my family for a while now… I don’t even want to see them anymore. They’re practically strangers to me now.”

Fortunately, she didn’t seem to miss or want to find her family.

I figured there must have been a reason she didn’t go home for the holidays, and it seemed I was right.

“I see. I don’t have any family at all. Do you have any loved ones you need to find? Like friends, or a lover?”

This was another important question. After family, people usually look for their friends or lovers. Since she was distant from her family, she might be even more attached to her peers.

“Friends… I don’t think it’s the right time to look for them. And I broke up with my boyfriend a long time ago…”

“I see. Sorry for asking these things, but I was wondering what I’d do if you wanted to go looking for them. As you can see, the situation is…”

“I know…”

She was in a similar situation to me. No family, no relatives, no lover. A survivor left alone.

She was someone I could connect with. Perhaps she would become a valuable companion in the future.

“Eun-ji, shall we kill a zombie? You might Awaken.”

“What? Are you… going outside? No! You’ll die, Oppa…”

Eun-ji grabbed my sleeve tightly, refusing to let go.

She pleaded with me not to go outside as she shook her head.

“I don’t want to be alone anymore, Oppa… Please don’t go… If you die… Can’t we just hold on a little longer until the military comes?”

It was uncertain whether the military would actually come.

But touched by her desperate plea, I decided to open up a little more.

It was hard to find any deceit in her tearful eyes as she clung to me.

‘Of course, they say tears are a woman’s weapon…’

I no longer suspected that she was an Awakened with strange skills.

There seemed to be no reason for her to lie to me and hide her abilities at this point.

“I’m actually Awakened. I have a way to avoid being detected by zombies, so don’t worry too much.”

“What? But… you said you weren’t…”

“Sorry. I had to test you. We just met today. I can’t completely trust you.”

“Th-that’s true, but…”

She quickly understood and nodded.

It was only natural to be distrustful.

Especially in my case. Having seen a skill like ‘Human Sacrifice,’ it was difficult to trust others blindly.

“I’ll take one down. You just crush its head. That’s all you have to do.”

“Uh…”

Eun-ji still looked scared. Well, it was understandable for an ordinary person to be afraid of killing a zombie.

But she couldn’t survive in this crazy world like that. To survive in this damned world where law and morality had crumbled, she needed to become stronger.

“Eun-ji, how much food do you have left?”

“Well… I have a sack of rice and some kimchi. It’s not a huge amount, especially for two people.”

“It’s the same for me. I’m low on food. If the military can’t come rescue us fast… we’ll have to fend for ourselves, right?”

“Right…”

“So, it’ll be easier for us to survive together if you also Awakened.”

Since we were on relatively good terms right now, it would be advantageous for our survival if Eun-ji also Awakened so we could help each other out.

“You’re right, Oppa. I think I was too scared.”

Eun-ji seemed determined and agreed to try.

“But Oppa, that method you mentioned, about not being detected by zombies… is it that Zombie Repellent spray?”

“Yeah. You know about it?”

“I saw someone post a picture of it online.”

“I see…”

She seemed to have learned about the achievement reward online.

The internet wasn’t completely down yet, so information was still circulating relatively actively.

There were probably quite a few people bragging about being Awakened online.

Eun-ji seemed to have learned about the achievement reward from those posts.

“So you chose the spray, Oppa.”

“Yeah. I thought it would be useful for moving around.”

“I think so too… If you were surrounded by zombies and get bitten, you’ll die before you can even run away. There wouldn’t be time to use the antidote then. And the inventory slots don’t help you avoid zombies.”

“Right. And you can only put five things in them. It’s better to just carry a bag.”

“Exactly.”

“Anyway, I’ll be back quickly. It only lasts for two hours, so I’ll be pretty busy trying to collect useful things at that time.”

I had to grab medicine from the pharmacy, stop by the hardware store, gather food and water, and raid the Daiso store. I was going to be very busy.

“So when I go out, I’ll leave one zombie half-dead, and you kill it. Got it?”

“Yes, Oppa. I’ll try my best.”

Good. I would have been a little disappointed if she had refused, said she couldn’t do it, or whined about being scared.

Although Eun-ji hesitated, she didn’t refuse. After I revealed that I was Awakened, she even expressed her desire to Awaken as well.

I really liked her. She was pretty, too. Wouldn’t she be the perfect partner for me to navigate the post-apocalypse with?

Honestly, I was a little smitten when she grabbed my sleeve and pleaded with me not to go, her expression full of concern.

It was like a spark had ignited in my cold heart. That made me want to protect her even more. I wanted to make her mine.

Those were my current thoughts, anyway.

Of course, I didn’t know what the future held, but for now, I decided to try surviving with her. I wanted to do so.

“Phew… Here I go.”

Pssht!

I sprayed my face and went outside. I also set an alarm on my phone for an hour and a half later. I didn’t want to die because I got distracted, and the repellent wore off.

Since Eun-ji wasn’t affected by the spray, I quickly closed the door behind me. She wouldn’t come out until I left one zombie for her. We agreed on that beforehand.

“They really don’t react…”

The Zombie Repellent was effective. The zombies saw me but didn’t react. They just continued banging on my front door out of inertia.

“Annoying bastards.”

There were about eight zombies. I just had to leave one alive and kill the rest. The two-hour timer had already started, so I had to hurry.

Whoosh! Crack! Splat!

I relentlessly bashed the zombies’ heads. With the sound of skulls cracking, I sent the insignificant undead crawling back to hell.

It was strangely exhilarating. It felt like I was releasing all the stress that had built up from being oppressed by the absurdities of modern society for thirty years.

Unfortunately, I didn’t level up. Killing seven zombies wasn’t enough.

“Phew…”

I should have exercised more. My shoulders were already sore after just a few swings. I needed to grab some pain relief patches on my way back. I hoped the pharmacy hadn’t been looted yet.

“Eun-ji, I left one for you.”

Eun-ji cautiously opened the door and came out. She held a hammer in her hand.

She said she also kept a hammer for self-defense since she lived alone.

“Uh…?”

Eun-ji hesitated as she was about to swing the hammer.

“What’s the matter?”

“Oh, um… It’s just… this zombie… I know him. It’s nothing. It’s just that… seeing this in real life is different from watching it in movies. Haha…”

The zombie crawling on the floor, the one Eun-ji was staring at with a distraught expression, looked like he was in his twenties.

‘Don’t tell me… Is this zombie her ex-boyfriend…? That’s what it looks like.’

I couldn’t be sure, but it felt like it.

Crack!

The zombie, still dazed from my baseball bat and crawling on the floor, stopped moving as Eun-ji’s hammer shattered its skull.

Eun-ji continued to bring the hammer down several times, as if venting her anger even though the zombie was already dead.

‘Yeah, this zombie must have been her ex-boyfriend…’

It didn’t seem like they parted on good terms. He must have come to his ex-girlfriend’s place during the Lunar New Year holiday and gotten bitten by a zombie.

He should’ve just gone home instead of visiting his ex and getting caught up in this mess.

I sneered at the zombie Eun-ji killed, then asked her,

“Did you Awaken?”

I asked in a slightly hurried tone because I had to get going. I didn’t have high expectations.

If it was so difficult that only one in a hundred people Awakened, then there was no way she would Awaken on her first try…

“Uh… wait a minute. Some messages are popping up…”

Really? She Awakened this easily?

I briefly looked into Eun-ji’s eyes, wondering if she was lying to avoid being abandoned by me, but the way her eyes darted around suggested she wasn’t.

She was reading a status window just like I had earlier.

Could it be that my ridiculously high and strangely numbered luck stat of 666 was at play here?

I hadn’t been sure whether that 666 was lucky or unlucky, but seeing Eun-ji Awaken instantly suggested that it was indeed lucky.

“Well, you can choose your reward and skills yourself. I don’t have time, so I’ll be going now.”

“Oh, okay! Come back safe! You have to come back alive! Don’t leave me alone!”

“Alright, I understand. Go inside now.”

“Okay!”

Eun-ji urged me repeatedly to come back alive and not die.

I really liked her. I would ask her about her job class when I returned.

I doubted it would happen, but if she betrayed me after Awakening, I’d be in trouble. I needed to level up while I was out.

I had to maintain my advantage in strength until I had something that allowed me to trust her completely.

‘Okay… Let’s go…’

I had already planned my route.

First, I would stop by the nearest convenience store, grab some cigarettes and other supplies, and if there wasn’t much there, I would head straight to the pharmacy.

Antibiotics and other medicines would become valuable later.

Well, it wouldn’t matter if there were healers among the Awakened, but for now, I had nothing.

I should also grab some cold medicine. I should sweep up everything I could find at the pharmacy. I didn’t really care what would happen to the other survivors.

After thoroughly looting the pharmacy, I would go to the supermarket, grab a shopping cart, and load up on canned goods, food, toilet paper, underwear, and other necessities. On my way back, I would stop by the hardware store and the Daiso store. That would be perfect.

It would be great if I could drive around, but neither Eun-ji nor I had a car, so we had to rely on our own two feet. Also, using a car might attract zombies.

‘Two-hour time attack…’

I mentally reviewed my route as I hurried down the stairs.

Hopefully, I could score some great loot!

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T/N – Pretty long chapter. Not much really happened though, just setting up who I assume to be harem candidate number one. Also, it said in the raws that he killed 8 zombies, but there were only 8 zombies present and the MC was supposed to leave one for Eun-ji, so I changed it to 7. I’ll change it back if ever the author mentions it again (though I highly doubt it).

If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.