Chapter 32
Whiiiiir-!
The motor of the elevator hummed very faintly.
This space, powered for the first time in half a year, was too luxurious to simply call a narrow metal box.
A subtly glowing gold-metal frame.
Clear full-length mirrors covered the entire walls. There was even a smooth black-and-white marble pattern across the floor.
I stood still inside that square metal box.
“How long has it been since I last rode an elevator...”
The reason I went out of my way to unlock the elevator, even at the cost of one precious tile, was simple.
With my current [Blueprint Mastery] skill, I could only check the blueprint for the first basement level.
I had no way of knowing exactly how large the other floors were or what sort of layouts their stores had.
Naturally, my own memories had long since grown hazy too.
“I mean... I spent six months holed up on B1 alone.”
After staying on B1 for so long, I had completely forgotten what was on the upper floors.
The department store's internal CCTV feeds had begun disappearing one by one starting in the first month of the apocalypse.
The exact day all the connections were severed was Day 42, when I was still counting the days.
“Hmm...”
Thinking about it too deeply would get depressing, so I moved on.
Anyway, that meant I had no choice but to go see the place myself and draw a map by hand.
“The mana stones will keep coming in anyway.”
And there was one more thing.
“It'd be amazing if this actually let me connect the tiles...”
My tile ownership ability required me to connect tiles, after all.
Since I owned the elevator, it would be incredible if I could use it to connect to the tiles on the other floors.
[Starplex Floor Guide (Floor Guide)]
[10F] Penthouse Hotel
[9F] Swimming Pool
[8F] Starplex Cinema
[7F] Extreme Arena & Theme Park
[6F] Premium Dining & Specialty Restaurants
[5F] Young Fashion & Streetwear
[4F] Outdoor & Sportswear
[3F] Smart Appliances & Electronics
[2F] Medical Center & Large Pharmacy
[1F] Signature Lobby & Luxury Goods / Beauty
[B1] Tasty Square & Disaster-Control Room
[B2] Parking Lot
After checking the floor guide.
“Should I start with the first floor...”
Would this thing even move? Please, let it move.
With a trembling hand, I pressed the [1] button among the elevator's floor buttons.
Clunk.
“Fuck, it's moving! It's moving!!”
I could move the elevator.
I could control the elevator however I wanted.
But the very moment the doors closed and it began moving upward with the elevator's distinctive mechanical noise.
“Oh, but wait, hold on.”
A spine-chilling question brushed past my mind.
The safe zone created by tile ownership was activated based on the tiles I owned.
But I had just taken ownership of the tile on the floor of the elevator, which had been stopped at B1.
So when the elevator moved up to another floor, would the tile I owned move along with the elevator?
Or would it remain fixed in midair on B1?
“Fuck, wait! Hold on, time out!!!”
How did you anchor it to the horizontal coordinate system?
How did you anchor it to the horizontal coordinate system?
How did you anchor it to the horizontal coordinate system?
How did you anchor it to the horizontal coordinate system?
That damn meme I had only seen online before the apocalypse came crashing into my mind at precisely the worst possible moment.
What if my tile ownership was fixed in midair on B1?
“No... No!!!!!!”
That would mean the elevator going up right now was no longer my safe zone.
“Fuuuuuck!! Don't go up!! Stop, I said stop!!”
I had to stop it. I needed to stop and think this through again.
The short time it took to go from B1 to the first floor felt as long as eternity.
With trembling hands, I frantically hammered the emergency-call button on the elevator wall.
Brrrrring-brrrrring-brrring-! Click.
[This is Starplex. How may we help you?]
A calm, dry mechanical voice came through the receiver.
“Ah...!!”
Of course, there was no one behind that friendly guidance message to answer me or stop the elevator.
The only human who could answer that phone ringing in the disaster-control room was me, currently trapped and trembling inside the elevator.
“Don't open! Don't open the doors!!! Love is close door!!!!”
I desperately clung to the doors and hung on.
But cruelly, the elevator arrived at the first floor.
Ding-dong-!
The metal doors smoothly opened to both sides.
“F-Fuuuck!”
The moment the doors opened, I saw the ruined first floor, bathed in sunlight streaming through the windows, and—
- Grrrk?
“Jom...ssaem?”
That familiar figure was there.
‘Has it extended all the way up here?’
It wasn't strange.
The Starplex building had collapsed in places all over.
- Kiiiiiek!!!
After spotting me, Jomssaem shot out a sharp tentacle faster than I could even react.
“Jomssaem!!!!! I gave you meat!! I turned on the lights every day so you could sunbathe comfortably! I even cranked up the air conditioner so you wouldn't get hot, you ungrateful bastard!!!!”
I was the only one who enjoyed the air conditioning, though!! Anyway!!!!
Just before the tentacle pierced straight through my brow, I closed my eyes.
Thump-!!
At that moment, a dull bursting sound rang out, like something had slammed hard into a solid glass wall right in front of me.
“Th... Thuuuu...”
When I cautiously opened my eyes to a slit, Jomssaem's tentacle was blocked by the boundary at the elevator threshold, trembling in midair.
Fortunately, my tile ownership was still recognized even though the elevator had moved.
“Ahh... f-fuck... I almost died before the ending.”
With the strength leaving my legs, I collapsed onto the elevator floor.
“Damn it, Jomssaem! You scared the shit out of me!!”
Fortunately, I hadn't pissed myself. I really hadn't.
But fuck, this was incredible.
“My ownership was recognized??”
Which meant?
[The first-floor blueprint has been unlocked]
It meant I could connect the tiles.
“Krrrgh, legendary... freebie incoming!!!!!!!”
Okay, let's take a quick look around one thing at a time.
Now that I had confirmed my tile ownership was definitely anchored to the horizontal coordinate system, there was nothing left to fear.
Other than being smashed to pieces, the first floor was exactly what it claimed to be: a luxury-goods floor with nothing particularly special. I looked around while desperately filtering out the remains of what used to be people.
“More importantly, why aren't there any other zombies?”
I couldn't see any other zombies besides Jomssaem, whose eyes swiveled in all directions as it watched me.
Back when the CCTV had still worked, every floor had been packed with different zombies.
The area around the entrance in the distance was completely covered in caked blood, making it hard to see outside. Only a vague glow of sunlight filtered in.
“Damn it, Jomssaem, move. I can't see.”
But it looked like the building might collapse if Jomssaem moved. Just stay right there.
I probably wouldn't have any use for luxury goods right now.
Pass for now.
Ding-dong-!
[2F] Medical Center / Large Pharmacy / Large Fitness Center / Gardening Garden / Conservatory...]
“Oh, nice!!”
Of course, that was what the description said, but it was so dark up here that I couldn't see much.
Everything I could make out in the elevator's light was just another ruin, no different from the first floor.
And Jomssaem was still there.
[The second-floor blueprint has been unlocked]
“Okay! Okay, great! This one has extremely high priority too...”
That's checked for now.
Whoosh-! Bang!
[3F] Smart Appliances & Electronics, Premium Living & Furniture
“Oh! Oh! This is it!!”
I wonder if there'd be infrastructure outside to support selling electronics. No idea.
[The third-floor blueprint has been unlocked]
As expected, another message announced that it had been unlocked.
“Either way, this one has fairly high priority too.”
Whoosh-! Bang!
Ding-dong-!
[4F] Outdoor & Sportswear
[5F] Young Fashion & Streetwear
The fourth and fifth floors looked identical. They were both clothing stores, though they seemed to carry slightly different types of clothes.
“Those things over there are mannequins, right?”
Please let that be true.
“Hey, don't move.”
I carefully avoided the gaze that seemed to be fixed on me from afar and made plans in my head.
[The fourth-floor blueprint has been unlocked]
[The fifth-floor blueprint has been unlocked]
“Clothes, huh.”
I did want to change my own clothes, and they might sell better than I expected.
The outside world I had seen through the Gallery no longer had the capacity to produce anything like what it had before the apocalypse.
“So they must be eating rat meat...”
But claiming ownership of them right now felt awkward.
I still had other places to look around, and hiking clothes were also available in the Camping Section I had just opened.
“Okay, let's pick up the pace a little.”
*****
The sixth, seventh, and eighth floors didn't seem especially important for now.
The sixth floor was a premium dining and specialty-restaurant area, but I had no need for it at the moment.
“I can cook now. I can control ingredients however I want.”
The seventh floor had a large arcade, an indoor shooting range, a theme park, and a kids' zone.
I only took a quick look around the eighth-floor cinema and the ninth-floor swimming pool.
“The world ended, and they expect me to watch a movie?”
But as I went around checking everything with my own eyes, I realized something.
Jomssaem extended through every floor.
“Jomssaem's size is truly awe-inspiring.”
Moreover, the higher I went, the more densely Jomssaem's flesh and tentacles seemed to fill each floor.
Its volume was growing insanely large.
“Then is the thing on B1 its root?”
So had I been talking to Jomssaem's crotch this whole time?
“Zombie gaygay...”
Then where on earth had all the other zombies disappeared to?
“Anyway, the long-awaited tenth floor!”
Once I looked around here, I would be done!!
Ding-dong-!
The moment the doors slid open.
“Huh?”
There were no broken ruins, and not even Jomssaem could be seen.
-Bzzzt... Bzzzzzt...
The piercing, unpleasant white noise of an old fluorescent light.
What filled my vision was an endless hallway covered in faded yellow wallpaper.
“What the fuck.”
And directly in front of me, as soon as the elevator doors opened, was a yellow wall.
It was densely covered with words that looked as if someone had painstakingly written them in dark reddish-brown fluid.
[Safety Rules for Visitors to Starplex's Tenth Floor]
1. When using the hotel hallways, please maintain absolute silence for the sake of the other guests.
2. If an employee approaches and admonishes you, hand over one of the following: your right molar, 30g of your tongue, or an ankle. Afterward, do not make eye contact and slowly leave the area. Do not run.
3. This rulebook contains no Rule 4. If you are encouraged to do something under Rule 4, it is a lie, so do not obey it.
4. There is an emergency exit on the tenth floor. If opening it reveals a staircase, do not use it. If opening the emergency exit reveals a cliff instead of stairs, it is a safe exit, so jump headfirst.
I alternated between staring at the rulebook and the endless yellow hallway.
“What the hell is this.”
Just as I stood there blankly for a moment.
At the end of the yellow hallway stood something with unnaturally long limbs, as if human bones had been forcibly stretched out.
It then raised one abnormally long, pallid index finger and brought it to where its mouth should have been.
It seemed to be demanding silence for the sake of the guests.
At the same time, a horrifying vibration seeped through the gaps in its torn maw.
- Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
A strange noise then flowed from between its gaps, as though bones were scraping against bones and being forcibly squeezed out—something no human vocal cords could produce.
"Talk about legendary inter-floor noise complaints."
Fuck, it says to be quiet.
“Your mom.”
Patter-patter-patter-patter!
Without a moment's hesitation, I rapidly clicked the elevator's [Close] button and muttered,
“This almost turned into a different genre.”
Naturally, even after seeing that horrifying appearance, my mental health was perfectly fine.
"I'll claim the ninth floor later and install a woofer in the ceiling."
Elevator? Tenth floor? Rulebook? Anomalies? Weird entities?
“Kraaaagh! My head all of a sudden!!!”
Anyway...
“That's enough for now.”
*****
Three days later, another stock-refill day arrived.
[Stock refill complete]
The moment the alarm sounded, I threw open the Shop's doors. The result?
- Bought it!!!!! [4212]
- Fuck, I bought Jiaco this time toooo!!! [4233]
- Mint chocolate! Mint chocolate! Mint chocolate! Mint chocolate! [4433]
- I'm brushing my teeth with this lol [3331]
- Oda Sujwa! Praise him!!! [4433]
....
Naturally, it sold out in one second flat.
“Kyaaah. This automatic mana-stone farming is insane.”
I lay in the goose-down sleeping bag inside my tent, happily listening to the mana stones pour in and enjoying the users' reactions, but.
“Hmm...”
At the same time, I felt uneasy.
“I don't think this can continue as it is...”
Using the elevator to look around had been an excellent choice.
Not only had I learned what was on the upper floors, but I had also discovered that I could connect the tiles.
But my concern was the opposite of that.
Specifically, was this method really okay as it was?
“I don't think so...”
This method clearly had limits.
The mana-stone cost of upgrading member invitations had skyrocketed after I dramatically expanded the membership last time.
[Shop Member Capacity Expansion (LV.40)]
[Mana stones required for next level up: 5,000]
[Additional Expansion of Product Registration Slots]
[Mana stones required for expansion: 5,000]
“What the fuck, isn't this inflation insane?”
The upgrades that used to be a comfortable click away for 1,000 mana stones had somehow shot up fivefold.
Of course, the more I upgraded this and sold, the better things would get for them.
“But can they hold out until then?”
I hadn't checked every single one, but people were dying day after day in the outside world.
[Capital Area Survivors Gallery (Current users: 79,823)]
-The Gallery's access radius is restricted by area-
When I had first seen the Gallery, there had been users in the low 80,000s. But the total number of users connected to the Gallery had already fallen to the 79,000s.
Wasn't it enough if the members could simply eat and live well among themselves?
“You can leave.”
Besides, just because I hadn't checked didn't mean none of my precious members were dying.
[Current member count: 3999/4,000]
“Ah, shit. Looks like someone just died again.”
Even though the last wave had been a raid by Red Zone fodder weaker than our Jomssaem.
If this many people were dying after only about three weeks since the Shop had fully opened...
“If they all die... then I'll die too...”
Eventually, every member who might buy my products would disappear. And if I couldn't earn mana stones and could no longer exercise my ownership rights?
- Grrrk!
Jomssaem's cry, greedily smacking its lips beyond the transparent wall, sent a chilling shiver down my spine.
No matter how much meat I delivered or how familiarly I joked around with it, I knew.
Jomssaem wasn't my friend.
Jomssaem wasn't my friend.
Jomssaem wasn't my friend.
I knew better than anyone what would happen the moment I got evicted for falling behind on rent.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. That can't happen.”
In the end, I reached two conclusions for the sake of my own survival.
“I need to make an effort to help them a little more.”
But to do that, ultimately?
“I need to earn more mana stones.”
Being the provider was hard.
“But how?”
Was the best I could do right now to expand my slots and sell them a wider variety of things?
Was that the only solution?
While thinking, I checked my full mana-stone balance.
[Mana stones currently held: 169,000]
“For now... let's level up the skill first.”
If this was the best I could do, I felt I had to do at least this much.
With that resolve, I opened the blueprint skill.
[Consume 80,000 mana stones to upgrade ‘Blueprint Mastery’ to Lv.4]
[You will receive ownership rights to 25 additional tiles]
Ding-!
“Twenty-five tiles... That's quite a lot more than I expected.”
That was enough tiles to connect not only the B1 blueprint but the blueprints on the other floors as well.
As I studied the blueprint and wondered what to unlock first, the number of survivors connected to the Gallery, which had just been dwindling one by one, flashed through my mind.
Even if I couldn't empathize with them, I could at least imagine what it was like.
Surviving every day with a clear head in an apocalyptic hell like that couldn't be easy.
Sometimes people needed a legal stimulant to help them forget the sewage-like reality for a while.
For now, it seemed best to unlock the liquor section and then connect and unlock the pharmacy section on the second floor.
“I feel like alcohol could be used as a weapon too.”
Medicine would obviously sell well. With the remaining mana stones, I could register some new food products too.
[Consume 5 tiles to acquire ownership of the liquor section!]
Thump-!
- Creakkkkk!!
At the same time, Jomssaem's massive body, which had been smacking its lips, was pushed away as if by an invisible broom.
Jomssaem doesn't go very far.
You're everywhere anyway.
“Okay. Next, the pharmacy...”
Just as I was muttering that, something unexpected happened.
[Building Master Main Quest 3 cleared!]
[Objective: Achieve 30% ownership of the floors currently held (Complete)]
[Reward: New ability unlocked!!!!]
[New Active Skill Unlocked: Blueprint Copy Lv.1]
I inhaled as I read through the newly appeared text.
“Blueprint Copy...?”
What is this now, you otaku bastard.
I looked into the skill window with trembling eyes.
[Blueprint Copy. Lv.1]
Active: Designate a tile owned by an Awakened and paste it intact at specific coordinates.
Passive: The copied offline area will change its functions appropriately according to the number, shape, and purpose of the copied tiles.
The system judges the original purpose of the copied tiles and helps create value beneficial to the Awakened, such as admission fees, usage fees, and sales revenue.
“Holy shit...”
It was the moment a new door opened.