Breathing Life into Real Dolls

It’s been about ten days since this world turned into a zombie apocalypse.

And the internet was still not cut off.

Since we couldn’t go outside where the zombies were wandering, all surviving citizens had become shut-ins. The internet community was more active than ever.

-But how come the internet, electricity, water supply, and things like that are not cut off yet?

└I don't know.

└Could it be that a super-powerful ability user is guarding and running the power plant?

└Many other countries have already had electricity and water supply cut off. It might be true if you think about it.

└Anyway, it won't last long. To meet the electricity demand, fossil fuel power generation must continue, but since we can't import fossil fuels, they'll run out.

└Haha. I'll have to download all the world's porn before the internet gets cut off. I'd rather die of starvation while jacking off in my room than become a zombie. Haha.

└Haha. You too?

The current status of the majority of South Korean citizens who were dominating online public opinion could be summed up in one sentence.

“I’d rather die in my room than become a zombie.”

They had survived for about ten days since the appearance of zombies, living only on the stockpiled food in their homes.

Nationwide, there were countless people like this.

That’s why Baek Seona suggested this.

“How about we try rescuing them?”

While I was the current head of our shelter, I wasn’t confident in managing such a place, so practically all tasks were handled by Baek Suna.

Her words carried weight.

But someone raised a realistic issue.

“What about the food?”

“We can last for a few months with just the preserved food in the Mart.”

The D-Mart was the largest warehouse-type supermarket in this area.

We have enough food for the approximately 1000 people in our shelter right now.

“But what about a few months from now?”

“There are many companies that have built warehouses or logistics centers in cheaper areas just outside the city. If we consider the preserved food stored there, we could last quite a while with just our current numbers.”

“…..”

Baek Seona’s words were true.

But there was a fundamental problem.

We could find and eat preserved food. But this preserved food was made before the world fell apart.

No matter how much there was, it wouldn’t last forever.

In other words, it was not a sustainable solution.

It was about consuming finite resources, and there was a high likelihood of conflict with others who wanted those resources.

So, I decided to propose a second option.

“Even if we gather the few ability users we have and go around rescuing, we won’t be able to save many. We should be farming in the meantime.”

“…Doha, that’s a good idea, but… there’s no space for farming in the middle of the city. And it takes time to harvest.”

“Exactly. That’s why we also need to find special class ability users, those who are specialized in resource supply.”

The internet still hadn’t been cut off.

Ability users were comparing their abilities and accumulating data through online communities.

Among them, there were rare ones who could supply electricity or water, produce food, or even make plants grow faster, like druids.

In other words, if we could find such special class ability users, we could solve the food or farming problem.

“If Doha is saying so…”

“Well, I…”

“Actually, we were also saved by Doha…”

And so, a conclusion was reached at the D-Mart Shelter Survivors Representative Meeting.

We decided to start rescuing people hiding in the nearby apartments first.

However, there was something far more important than these meetings for a rescue mission. That was the willingness of the ability users.

Even if the meeting concluded with a plan, if the ability users said, ‘I don’t want to,’ it would be as if the discussion never happened.

So, I asked Lee Jinah, who had taken on the role of my deputy.

“Jinah, can you ask the special forces members who came to D-Mart with us? What do they think about rescuing the survivors nearby….”

“Yes.”

Lee Jinah bowed her head and returned less than 20 minutes later.

“Captain. I’ve gathered everyone’s opinions.”

“You’ve already asked everyone?”

“Yes. They all unanimously agreed. Some seemed to have even planned to engage in rescue activities on their own.”

I had expected as much.

All of the special forces members had voluntarily joined the team to save people from D-Mart.

Even more, the special forces only had 8 members, and the ability users on the opposing D-Mart side, including Choi Cheolnam, whom I had killed first, and the other lowlifes, totaled 23.

Meaning they were all altruistic people.

‘How did such people gather here…?’

Including Baek Seona, they were all foolishly kind people.

No… it was more accurate to say that only such people remained here. After all, I had killed all 23 ability users who had exploited women as sex slaves.

In any case, this marked the official start of the rescue mission.

The first step of the rescue was cleaning up the zombies around the mart, and a subjugation team was formed for this task.

Having spent seven days with the members of the subjugation team, I had recognized each member’s traits and built a certain level of camaraderie.

Let’s take a brief look at each one…

-Shin Jiha.

“I-I’m sorry. Did I get too carried away by myself…?”

Small stature, agile movements, purple hair.

She was shy and not good with strangers, but she was very proactive in battle.

She possessed a D-class ability called [Shadow Walk].

Considering that the highest rank of the special abilities I’ve seen so far was E-class, which everyone except me and Shin Jiha held, a D-class ability was really a cheat. I knew it well since I almost died from it.

-Lee Jinah.

“I’m ready for any order, Captain.”

She seemed to be over 170 cm tall and was the owner of a chest even bigger than Serena’s.

She followed me around a lot and even claimed to be my deputy, but her tone was very stiff, giving off a strong subordinate vibe.

She had the ability to manipulate elements like stones, dirt, or concrete. It gave off an earth magic vibe.

-Yoo Hee.

“Go, Nyariel! That’s it. Good job!”

A typical social butterfly college girl. The last character of her name was ‘Hee’.

She was very proactive in interacting with people. She was so likable that she was in charge of helping exchange students adapt to her school.

She used an ability to enhance her white cat ‘Nyariel’. It gave off a beast-tamer vibe.

-Ibaraki Yume.

“Barrier! How is it, Daicho? Did I do good!?”

An exchange student from Japan. She called me Daicho (Captain).

She went to the same school as Yoo Hee and was one of the exchange students Yoo Hee looked after.

She used an ability to provide individual barriers to each person. In her pronunciation, it’s “baria” (Barrier, バリア).

-Xiao Lin.

“Zombies are too easy. They’re in the palm of my hand~.”

An exchange student from China. It was pleasing to see she was always confident, but she tended to be overly confident in her abilities.

She went to the same school as Yoo Hee and Yume, and was also one of the exchange students Yoo Hee looked after.

She used a steel pipe as a weapon, with the ability to change its length at will.

-Han Miin.

“Huh? What am I capturing? I’m going to post it on Instagram. The world has ended, but Instagram has become even more popular.”

She worked as a fashion model but was essentially an Instagram influencer. She always had her smartphone in hand and captured everything.

To be honest, if an ugly girl had her name, her school days would have been painful, but Han Miin was truly beautiful.

She used a physical enhancement ability. It gave off a tank-damage dealer vibe.

-Seo Yuna.

“I’m not really… I’ll go ahead.”

I hadn’t figured out Seo Yuna yet. She hadn’t missed any of the extermination team schedules, but there was no interaction otherwise.

She used an ability to curse the enemy, making them slow or weak. It gave off a debuffer vibe.

… That was all.

With these 7 people, including Serena and myself, the total number of members of our D-Mart shelter extermination team was 9.

Of course, I was the team leader.

The seventh-day afternoon extermination ended without any particular incident.

“Everyone worked hard exterminating zombies today.”

At my greeting, signaling the end of the extermination, Yume reacted first.

“Daicho-! Otsu for today!”

Yume liked animations, and when she realized that Korean otakus mixed Japanese words into their speech, she started using them enthusiastically.

Starting with Yume’s greeting, the other members also greeted each other.

“Go, good job…!”

Shin Jiha.

“Good job-! Let’s go, Nyariel!”

Yoo Hee.

“There were no worthy opponents today. Too simple, too simple.”

Xiao Lin.

“If there’s no problem, that’s fortunate. Everyone worked hard.”

Han Miin.

“…..”

Seo Yuna, as usual, just nodded her head and disappeared.

But something was off. Something different from usual…

…Ah! Lee Jinah, who always greeted everyone first, didn’t say anything.

As I turned my head toward Lee Jinah, she was staring at me.

“…Leader.”

“Uh, Jin Ah. Is there something up?”

“I have a serious request for you, leader.”

Lee Jinah looked very serious.

“What is it? Speak up.”

“It’s a bit odd to discuss it here. Could you please come to my room after dinner?”

“…Understood. See you later.”

Lee Jinah had never asked me for anything special before. Rather, she always silently carried out my orders.

Lee Jinah, who had a strong loyalty to me.

What would her request be…?

The ability users all used the few private rooms in the D-Mart.

The people in the shelter stepped forward and offered this as a natural treatment for the ability users who saved them.

I had a shower and finished dinner with Serena.

As I was about to leave the room to listen to Lee Jinah’s request, Serena made a meaningful comment.

“Master, you’re going to Jinah unnie’s room, right?”

“Huh? Yeah. How did you know?”

“I heard it from Jinah unnie first.”

Then, she suddenly kisses me.

“Serena? Uh…”

“Huff♡, Chu, chuup, chuup♡”

Serena, who tightly hugged me and continued a deep kiss for about 10 seconds, suddenly let go and spoke with a smile in her eyes.

“Hehe. Have a good time!”

“Uh, huh…..”

Something about Serena was different than usual.

With a puzzled look, I arrived at Lee Jinah’s room.

The request I heard there was truly shocking.

“Please take my virginity, captain.”

“…What?”

“I beg you.”

Lee Jinah bowed her head.

Virginity? What was virginity?

To me, whose brain had stopped working, Lee Jinah added one more sentence.

“I’ve already explained the situation and got permission from your girlfriend, Rena.”