Chapter 43 – 43. Gutter Strategy Reward

I wanted to run around the gutter some more, killing zombies and stealing bags, but I was afraid of getting lost so I escaped right away.

I first took a breath. Fortunately, when I came out of the labyrinth, I didn’t lose consciousness and returned to the rooftop of Building 101 in the same condition I left the door.

[Successfully conquering the stinking gutter!]

[You will receive a reward for your strategy!]

[Congratulations! Survival level has increased!]

[Survival level 6 → 7]

The survival level has already risen one more. When I hunted vampires, I think I probably received enough experience to advance to the next level. This time, I invested in strength and stamina.

-Rattle.

As I was taking the stats, two green boxes fell. They said it would give two rewards because it was a mid-to-low level labyrinth. It was true.

‘It’s full of corpses..’

All the zombies that followed me to the rooftop were dead. Perhaps after I entered the labyrinth, my companions came here, cleared out all the zombies, and then left.

It seemed like they were worried that I would immediately have to fight zombies when I returned from the labyrinth. Judging by the traces, it was full of zombies that Ayun had killed by chopping them like firewood with an axe.

Judging by the fact that some of the dogs were burned, Mr. Junho was also here. It seemed like Seunghee and Saeyeon hadn’t come this far. There were only three footprints with blood, but judging from their size, it seems like Yeongsik was also there.

Anyway, there is no one there now. I guess they just cleared out the zombies quickly and everyone went to town. Because I said I would be bringing the stove and other camping supplies today.

Even if I wasn’t there, it seemed like the group would unite and bring something good.

“Sniff.. Wow..”

I put my nose to the clothes and smelled them. As expected, the scent of the gutter permeated my entire body. I have to go home quickly and wash this.

I wanted to chase after the traces of my companions right now, but I felt like if I approached them with this horrible smell, no matter how much they liked me, they would turn me away.

I put the reward box in my bag and went to my building.

Magpies, crows, pigeons, sparrows, and other birds were pecking at the blood and internal organs of zombies scattered around.

On the first day, all the birds flew away, but now they are naturally eating the corpses.

“Meow..”

“Haaah!”

Cats barking at me as I pass by. Even the neighborhood cats were eating the zombie’s corpse. The dead body of the zombie that fell into the flower bed was covered in rats with rats attached to it.

It seems that the number of flying insects and pests in the neighborhood has increased significantly. As I was walking, several birds had already closed to my face and body and then flew away.

I felt like it was gradually increasing after the disaster, but today it’s sticking to me even more. It’s probably because my body smells like a gutter.

“But those guys… Won’t they eat zombie corpses and turn into zombie birds or zombie cats… ?”

There was no record in the survivor’s journal that even the beasts had changed. So, there is a high possibility that it will not change, but even the survivors died before they lasted more than six months. I don’t know what will happen later.

“It’s scary…”

I got a little scared. It would be a big problem if such flying animals and cats, which are common in the neighborhood, eat zombie corpses as a group and turn into zombie beasts.

If birds fly in and peck at you, you’ll get infected, and if cats or rats come up and bite you, it’s the end. Even mosquitoes are scary.

“Ah, winter will come.. But there will be less mosquitoes..”

When winter comes and even the sea water freezes, all the mosquitoes will freeze to death. However, if these insects survive and turn into zombies and bite people, they are helpless and have no choice but to get infected.

Even cockroaches somehow seem to survive even if eternal winter comes. If they go crazy and try to bite people, there is no way for humanity to survive.

“Ah.. I guess the opening scene isn’t that great. A.”

I shook my head to dismiss random thoughts. No matter how much zombies create mutants every week, never-ending winter comes, nights last longer, and even vampires roam around…

“Uh? Fuck.. Even bugs can turn into zombies..”

Looking at what’s going on, it looks like they’re just going to wipe out humanity itself… If they do well, even bugs will turn into zombies.

If the difficulty gets that hard, wouldn’t it be better to just all agree and commit suicide? I wonder if there is any reason to live a difficult life when there are no dreams or hopes.

“They’re all here.”

Instead of going into the house of Saeyeon, who I was living with, I stood in front of my own house. You can’t go into your partner’s house wearing smelly clothes like this. That is not manners.

“Ugh.. I can’t even wash these.”

I took off all the clothes I had been wearing in the gutter and threw them out onto the veranda. I don’t even want to wash it and wear it. Even if I wash it, the smell doesn’t seem to go away.

I threw all my shoes and socks out the window and went into the bathroom. Fortunately, the gas, electricity, and water supply had not yet been cut off, so I was able to take a bath in warm water.

Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, I won’t be able to enjoy it anymore. It could all be cut off as early as today.

“Haa..”

I splashed some hot water on my head and scrubbed every inch of my body. It seemed like the smell went away only after washing my body twice with body wash to remove the scent from the gutter.

“Whoa..”

I shook my hair three times and it was completely dry. The good thing about having short hair is that it is easy to wash and dry. Life has become much easier. It must be said that the time to wash hair itself has been drastically reduced.

After taking a bath, I thought I might have been infected or contaminated by something in the gutter, so I took a pill of the body decontamination agent I had prepared. It is said that if you take more than three pills a week, your muscles may melt, so you need to be careful.

“Then…”

Before I go out to find my companions, I need to look at the reward first. Because unexpected items pop out of the reward box. It will definitely help you survive.

I opened the first box. Then, like last time, a bright light came out and a small compass appeared.

[Compass for gate tracking: Indicates the direction of the gate at the nearest distance. If it is too far away, it will not be tracked.]

“Wow!”

Items that would be directly helpful in future survival emerged. I think this would be very helpful when gates don’t appear in close proximity like they do today. I’m not sure how far is too far, but you’ll get a feel for it as you write.

Anyway, if you go in and out of the simple labyrinth, you can get much more than you think, so it is better to survive if you go in without missing a day.

This was the best reward because when the green gate of the infinite labyrinth appeared, the person who ate it first was the winner.

“It looks like there is no gate around here now..”

Like a broken compass, the needle did not point in any direction. It will probably be fully functional by the time the sun rises tomorrow.

Anyway, this is a good start. I opened the next box right away.

[Exorcist’s Lantern: When you feed it a magic stone, it emits a soft light. The dead do not try to approach the range of this light. Each lowest grade magicite glows for 10 minutes.]

“Wow.. That’s crazy.”

Tremendous. It’s an item that chases away zombies if you feed it a magic stone. It felt exactly like mosquito repellent. It is said that if you feed the lowest level magic stones every 10 minutes, you can keep zombies away all night long, so as long as you have enough magic stones, you can be safe from zombies for the rest of your life.

Even in the case of mid-level bloodstone, it has 100 times the efficiency of the lowest-level magic gemstone, so it would be great if you can obtain a lot of bloodstone reliably. With 2 bloodstones, you can use it all day.

“The dead don’t include vampires, right?”

It would be nice if we could drive out vampires too. On the other hand, since vampires and ghouls are highly intelligent, I thought they might wait for us or attack us from a distance without leaving until the lights go out.

In the end, this was just a temporary measure to avoid being attacked by zombies at night.

“It’s a shame that vampires don’t come out often..”

According to what is written in the survivor’s journal, vampires only appear occasionally once the sun has completely disappeared and the endless night begins. So I don’t think there’s any need to be afraid right now.

After confirming all the rewards, I changed back into my street clothes and wiped the blood and grease off the machete with a rag I had lying around. Then, take a new bag and tie it on your back.

I also took the ring and bracelet that I had received from Kang Jun-hyuk, a revolver, and an assault rifle. A machete, a fire ax, and even a pork cutlet hammer that looks like it’s about to break. The preparation is perfect.

From now on, I plan to use trace observation to track the group’s footsteps. Everyone will be back this afternoon, so before the sun sets, but I still have to go see it in person.

“Good.”

I put a towel in my mouth to minimize talking to myself. Next, I wore the Gore-Tex hiking shoes I acquired yesterday. I was about to change my shoes, but it worked out well.

‘It’s so fucking hard.’

As recommended by my father, who is a mountaineering enthusiast and enjoys fishing, the hiking boots were very sturdy. Since it was for mountain climbing, the soles of his shoes had many grooves to prevent slipping.

If it’s this hard, it seems like you can kill a zombie by just stepping on it. Of course, rotten flesh or internal organs are more likely to get stuck in the sole.

‘Then..’

I quickly went down to the first floor holding a machete.

I hope everyone stays safe.