NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7
“…Ghh…”
I tried to get up, but my body wouldn’t budge.
My arms… My arms won’t bend.
What time is it now?
How long have I been sleeping?
“Ughh…”
The hard floor that felt comfortable last night is now quite unforgiving.
My back, my legs, no, my neck…
Everything’s stiff—
“Woah, woah. You shouldn’t move too quickly.”
With the help of a hand slowly supporting me, I managed to sit up with great difficulty.
In front of my eyes, which won’t open properly, there’s someone offering a water bottle.
“The sun is high in the sky. You should wake up now.”
“…It’s awfully dark for the sun to be high up.”
“Of course, we’re inside a bunker. Still, it’s important to live according to the clock.”
Is there a clock around?
Yeah, having a clock would help properly schedule rest and activity times.
But… sleeping on the bare floor really takes its toll.
I should probably make a makeshift bed soon; it would be better in the long run.
“I’ve confirmed the electric stove is on. Looks like we’ll eat some well-cooked canned ham today.”
“Canned ham… huh.”
Canned ham, you say.
Hearing the name alone doesn’t really give me a good sense of what it’s like. If it’s the ham I know, it’s greasy and tastes amazing with rice.
“Sorry it’s not fancy. In a situation like this, we won’t get high-quality ham. Forget bacon—it’s not even in our dreams.”
White rice makes anything taste good… but then again, this place feels like a mix of America and Russia.
So, here, I guess they eat canned ham… Hmm.
Perhaps they spread it on bread?
Wait, is there even decent bread available?
“Ah, and… Sarah woke up.”
“Thank goodness.”
People who are injured typically just waste resources.
And if they get infected, we’d need to use medicine like crazy. Plus, if the person taking care of them gets injured in battle, the infection could spread further.
It’s better for everyone if they recover quickly.
“While we eat, can you check on her condition?”
I’m not exactly a doctor, but…
…I can’t say “no” to someone looking at me with so much trust.
Guess I don’t have much choice.
I limped down the corridor, noticing again how the barricades blocking the front and rear passages are firmly in place.
Old zombies can’t climb up, but even if they could, the noise would alert us, so maybe we’re safe.
Ah, and this smell.
This salty, greasy smell… Could it be…
“Is this the canned ham—”
“Does the smell appeal to you?”
It’s X ham.
“It’s a method my father taught me. It’s better to cook it until it’s golden brown and eat it with some dry and flavorless crackers instead of eating it raw.”
Nope.
There’s nothing better than eating it on freshly steamed rice.
“You probably haven’t tried it, but when you do, it’s actually quite tasty. Of course, compared to a life of crispy bacon with eggs and toast…”
Hmm, bacon, eggs, toast.
You’d need to raise livestock for bacon.
You’d need chickens for eggs, and you’d need to grow wheat for toast.
Thinking about it, in the game, I mostly ate preserved food for efficiency.
But well-prepared meals truly help with depression too.
“We’re here. Sarah’s in that room over there.”
As I moved forward, lost in thought about food, I arrived at the source of a sizzling sound.
The living area is right beside the medical wing.
Judging from the scattered supply crates, this used to be a storage room.
Blankets are spread out all over the place.
“Ah, Doctor has awoken.”
When did this guy start calling me “Doctor”?
Now he greets me with a bright smile.
I leaned against the wall next to James as he continued to cook.
Oh, there’s an electrical cord.
This is something I didn’t see in the game.
“How’s your body feeling?”
“It’s a bit sore, but I’m managing.”
“Figured. You were pushing yourself even though you didn’t sleep last night. You’re a bit more fragile than Sarah, see. That’s why I prepared some protein.”
Ah. This salty, greasy smell.
My blood pressure already feels like it’s soaring.
…Maybe we should grow rice?
Seeds can probably be found, and with some effort, it’s possible.
Of course, farming would be late-game content. We’d need to hire farmers, or…
I’d need to read a ton of books, but I doubt the game would allow something like that even if I tried…
“Are you deep in thought? Is the meat making you salivate?”
“Salivate? From this…? Hmm?”
James and Curtis are looking at me in amusement as I wipe my mouth.
Crap, it’s soaking wet.
“Have you tried it before?”
“Ah, yes, in Korea, we have something called ‘Budae Jjigae’—a stew made by mixing leftover U.S. military supplies from the old days and cooking them together… Sometimes we even cook it and eat it with rice.”
“Stew? Oh, like a canned ham stew?”
“Made with beef bone broth and tomato ketchup, along with beans, sausages, and sometimes a slice of cheese.”
How come their expressions are souring?
“It’s delicious.”
“…I didn’t know Koreans liked weird foods.”
“Ah, well, as long as it’s good, I’ll eat it. Just bring me the best.”
Why are their reactions like this?
It’s delicious, I say.
…No, this won’t do. I need to accelerate development and show them the taste of rice with X ham as soon as possible.
“Well, my father will probably take care of the cooking, so I’ll leave Sarah’s condition to you.”
“Alright, let’s do that.”
Curtis waved goodbye while giving me a strange look and turned away. I walked down the dark corridor toward the medical room.
The door was slightly ajar, but barging in…
– KNOCK KNOCK.
A faint shuffling sound came from inside.
“Come i-in…”
A hoarse voice.
I gently pushed open the steel door and saw Sarah, her hair disheveled.
“…Umm.”
It was clear that her bandages needed to be changed soon.
There should be some alcohol in the emergency medical kit, right?
As I silently washed my hands and put on gloves, I heard her take a deep breath.
“- I heard you saved me.”
“It was something I had to do.”
With a snap, I pulled on the rubber gloves tightly, cut her old bandages with scissors, and tossed them into a container.
I pressed down on the wound with cotton to clean away the dried blood and discharge.
“Naturally…”
Sarah, who was silently staring at my work, suddenly flinched her face—
“Uwaaah…!”
“Does it hurt?”
“The alcohol! Tsk tsk….”
“Take that.”
This time, I covered the wound with a piece of gauze and wrapped it with fresh bandages.
It will take time to fully heal, but…
“Can you move around?”
“I’m starving. I want to eat something first.”
“Of course.”
What can Sarah do?
Guard duty, combat, hunting, like Curtis and James?
It would be nice if she could help in other ways, but that might be asking too much…
“Let me bring you some food. The menu is grilled canned ham and crackers.”
“Feels like I haven’t eaten anything green in forever.”
“Vegetables.”
“Yes, vegetables! After eating salty and greasy foods all the time. I know it’s a luxury, but… cola, maybe some cola too.”
Oh well.
As soon as the fortifications are ready, I’ll need to start farming right away.
“I complained a little. If I said this to my grandfather or father, they’d scold me and ask how many times I’ve already said it. Of course, it’s not their fault.”
After saying that, she pressed her wound a bit more, then reached for a painkiller and drank it with some water.
Her legs touched the ground, her face slightly cringing—
“Let’s go. Time to eat.”
“I was going to bring the food here.”
“The room needs to stay clean. Besides, my leg isn’t broken.”
People usually want to rest more.
What’s with this tendency to overexert herself?
“Aren’t you coming?”
“I’ll tidy up first.”
She nodded, then hobbled past the door on her unsteady legs and disappeared.
Soon the sounds of lively chatter followed.
…Well, she’s the cherished granddaughter and daughter of her grandfather and father.
As I discarded the waste and stepped out into the hallway, my eyes naturally fell on the dark barricades again.
“…”
I gave it a slight shake with my hand.
I pushed it a bit with my foot, but it didn’t budge easily, a properly installed—
“GAUUUH!”
“AAAAHHH!!”
My hand!
Even though it was dark, I could tell—this.
“What’s happening—Damn it!”
As the light flicked on, the situation became clear.
There were tons of zombies beyond the barricade.
They were waving their arms, leaning heavily on the steel plates.
“Did you get bitten?”
“N-no. Just shoot them.”
Attracted by the light and the smell of cooking food.
Fortunately, only old zombies could be seen, but…
“Shit, and we don’t have much ammo left.”
“How many are there?”
Judging by sight, at least ten, probably more.
“Go check the other side.”
“Sarah, give Xuan Woo the shotgun.”
“Okay.”
If we keep this up, they’ll definitely interrupt our meals every day.
And if we can’t dispose of the bodies, the putrid smell will ruin the mood.
“…No time for rest.”
We need to kill them before more come, or…
We need firepower strong enough to kill them even if they do approach.
“The other side is fine.”
“It’s clear. We should move.”
“No. We’ll stay here and defend it.”
For other characters, wandering would be advantageous.
Quickly move away from the spawning point, consume as little food as possible to enter a community of “city” scale as fast as possible.
Accept quests there, earn money, and repeat the cycle of buying food.
You train that way, but…
I’m a crafter who can make anything with my hands.
And I want to construct, with my own hands, a self-sustaining life that doesn’t require me to lift a finger in the future as much as such a community, so it’s only fitting that I overcome these early difficulties.
“There’s not enough bullets to stay.”
“True, but we should check the generator and water pump’s condition…”
“The medical room we worked so hard to set up is valuable, but—”
“Sarah is injured. She’ll need to rest, or her wound might worsen.”
“…If it’s because you’re worried about a girl, I was preparing to join the army—”
“A human first, a girl second, and rest is the top priority for someone injured. If my wound festers into something I don’t know about and bursts, there won’t be anything I can do.”
Because she’s a girl?
Not even close.
In my eyes, they’re all future laborers.
If we lose even one person, the two skilled marksmen here might break psychologically, and in the worst case, kill themselves.
I can’t see that, so, no.
“You said there isn’t enough ammunition?”
“All 5.56 and buckshot shells.”
“I can make buckshot immediately if you like.”
All three people turned their gaze toward me.
“…You’re joking, right?”
“No. I can do it. All I need is the materials.”
Because I’m a crafter.
Guns, electricity, water, even food.
I can make all of them because I’m a crafter.
“Bring me scrap metal, gunpowder, and plastic containers.”
“…That works? Are you really sure?”
“Hurry. Before their numbers grow.”
Before I even had a proper meal, I grabbed the welding machine and metal sheet.
I need to hurry.