Chapter 42
Meanwhile, the Capital Area Survivors Gallery was abuzz with discussion about the Black Zone.
Several tiles had appeared on the outskirts of the Capital Area.
The error messages that had appeared for the survivors because of them had also surfaced for the Gallery's users.
Title : Fuck, did anyone just see that...??
No, the Black Zone appeared on the outskirts of the Capital Area!!!!
Did only I get this alarm???
ㄴㄴㄴ
ㄴ Fuck, it popped up for me too;;
ㄴ Me too;;
ㄴ It kept throwing errors and shit...
ㄴ Did they really install a Black Zone in the Blank Zone??
Seems like it...
ㄴ Is this even possible...?
ㄴ I don't... know?
Title : Wait, does that mean the System can even move across dimensions...?
How is that possible...?
The System was the one that awakened us in the first place...
ㄴ Tearing through dimensions and moving things is nothing...
ㄴ Shouldn't it be possible?
ㄴ It does make sense...
It's fucking scary, though.
ㄴ For real, that's fucking scary;;
ㄴ [Shop Wiki] This is a genuine wildcard;;
ㄴ [Shop Wiki] Wildcard No. 3134 has entered the building...
ㄴ [Shop Wiki] Master of variables ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ I like toilets.
ㄴ Me too.
[Shop Wiki] No, this is really a wildcard.
ㄴ [Shop Wiki] I don't know whether this is a regular patch...
ㄴ [Shop Wiki] Or whether he just gave us a taste...
ㄴ [Shop Wiki] But if he can freely adjust dangerous zones...
ㄴ [Shop Wiki] that means our zone could be twisted at any time too;;
ㄴ Gasp
ㄴ That's fucking scary...
ㄴ For real, it is...
Does anyone who was summoned to that scene actually see the Black Zone in person?
ㄴ ㄴㄴ The announcement hasn't even gone up yet;;
ㄴ For real, we don't even know what happened yet.
ㄴ Yeah;;
But what do we do if a Black Zone appears there...?
ㄴ For real, we're fucked...
ㄴ A Black Zone above and below...? Black?
ㄴ A ton of black stuff above and below?
ㄴ Ugh
ㄴ Hey
ㄴ Is this the time to joke?
Just as the Capital Area Survivors Gallery was overflowing with talk about the Black Zone, a post suddenly appeared.
Title : [Breaking News] I'm Telescope Guy!! We survived, holy shit!!!!
You know that Black Zone the System installed in the Blank Zone that threw errors and went crazy???
That cube swallowed the Head Mod, Seo-jin bro, and Jinhyeok bro—all three of them ㅇㅇ
We survived!!!!!
???
ㄴ ?
ㄴ What the hell are you talking about, you lunatic
ㄴ If it swallowed all three, we're finished, you idiot!!!!!
ㄴ What do you mean, we survived ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Is the Gallery being shut down?
ㄴ What do we do if the Head Mod is gone...?
ㄴ No, fuck, System... what do we do if it swallowed all three;;
ㄴ For real, its aim is terrible.
Ah, sorry sorry.
ㄴ It spat the Head Mod and Seo-jin bro right back outside;;
ㄴ Only Jinhyeok stayed inside that cube... he just turned into a fountain of blood and died, I think;;
ㄴ The mutants he had enslaved died along with him ㅇㅇ
ㄴ Everyone else ran away ㅇㅇ
??
ㄴ ?
ㄴ No, you have to say that part first ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ Lmaoㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ For real, this guy's IQ ㅋㅋㅋ
So does that mean it's over?
ㄴ Yeah!!!!!!!
ㄴ We won thanks to the System!!!
ㄴ !!!!
ㄴ Fuuuuuuuck!!
ㄴ We liiiiive!!!
That post instantly turned the mood of the Capital Area Survivors Gallery around.
Wow, the Shop << this bastard's aim is insane ㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ Isn't he using ESP;;
ㄴ This guy's change of attitude ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ Selective Black Zone entry ㄷㄷ;;
So is the Black Zone going to stay there...?
ㄴ It can't stay there;;
ㄴ Nope, it disappeared right away!!
ㄴ Phew...
ㄴ What a fucking relief...
But the System's power really is incredible;;
ㄴ It just summoned a Black Zone...
ㄴ Is this really okay...?
It was then, while relief at surviving the crisis of destruction and the joy of victory were flooding the Gallery.
A piece of news that poured oil onto the festival of madness appeared before all the survivors at once.
Ding-!
[System : Large-scale regional integration is underway]
[The Cheonan, Pyeongtaek, and Anseong Survivors Galleries >> will be incorporated into the Capital Area Survivors Gallery]
Uh...?
ㄴ Huh?
ㄴ The Gal... Gallery integration...?
W-What is this?
ㄴ I don't know... I've never seen this before...
ㄴ System-nim, I'm scared...
Just as they stood there bewildered, another alarm appeared to drive the point home.
[Readjustment of the Blank Zone that stood between the Capital Area and the integrated regions will begin]
[All anomalies and highly toxic fog within the affected area will be permanently removed]
*****
Meanwhile, I had returned to the first basement level and was resting inside my sleeping bag.
“Ugh, my head.”
That horrible sensation of my brain boiling was still lingering.
But something else weighed on my mind more than the headache.
“That error... what the hell was it?”
I had seen it clearly too.
When I tried to copy the hotel tile, an error had appeared in the warning window for the System—in other words, the real System.
Of course, the tile copy had succeeded in the end, and the name that had been exposed was the Shop's name, so it didn't matter.
In the end, Jinhyeok bro had been dealt with cleanly and we had won, so it was fine.
Still, I couldn't help feeling uneasy about it.
“Did I get on that System's bad side?”
Did I offend System-nim?
But, O divine System...
Even if I did offend System-nim, my mind, body, and spirit are pure, so please go easy on me.
“Heh-heh.”
As I rambled on about nothing, I clicked my tongue in genuine regret.
“It is a shame...”
If only our Jinhyeok bro's heart had been just a little kinder!
If only Jinhyeok bro's desire to save the world had been directed just a little farther in the right direction!
“We could have become best friends...”
I could have showered him with meat, brought him here, and let him try taming Zombie Teacher too.
But he couldn't even enslave that Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Zombie Teacher friend on the tenth floor. Nothing to be done.
“If Zombie Teacher fought that Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Zombie Teacher friend, who would win?”
Grrrk-!
“Huh? Zombie Teacher would lose? Or are you saying he'd win?”
Grrrk-!
Hmm. Since I couldn't understand what he was saying, I just delivered him some meat.
Grrrrrrrr-!
As I quietly watched Zombie Teacher tear into the fresh meat that had dropped from the air and smack his lips over it, I suddenly had a thought.
‘Who knows? If I keep offering him meat like this, maybe I'll be able to tame him someday?’
Of course, Jinhyeok bro's ability was enslavement, so I wasn't expecting much.
And considering I was thinking this even after nearly having my head explode one second ago, I wasn't exactly normal either.
“Anyway, I wonder how things are going outside.”
I opened the System window again to check the Gallery's public opinion and see how badly customer acquisition had been wrecked.
But.
“Huh...?”
I doubted my eyes.
[Capital Area Survivors Gallery (current users: 91,615) ▲ 12,923]
“What the hell! Why did the number of users increase so much?!”
The number of survivors had increased by nearly ten thousand.
I thought it was an error.
This was a ruined world where human lives were worth less than those of flies.
It was easy for the population to decrease, but it was never easy for it to suddenly increase like this.
The country had already been dying out before the apocalypse thanks to its astonishingly low birth rate, so after the apocalypse, there was no need to explain what it was like.
“Huh? What?”
Wondering how it was possible for potential customers to have increased this much, I hurriedly entered the Gallery.
Title : Um... hello...
I'm a survivor from Cheonan... the System alarm just appeared, and the Gallery forcibly moved me over here...
Is this right...?
Please take care of me... Are you really going to save us...?
Hahahaha!!
ㄴ Welcome, newbie!!!!
ㄴ One Pyeongtaek survivor here... Is it always this noisy here?
ㄴ Anseong is here too ㅠㅠ
Take the newbie!!!! ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ Wow, fuck, it really merged ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ That's insane;;
ㄴ For real, it's fucking amazing...
After seeing the Head Mod's announcement and the Gallery posts, I immediately understood how things were unfolding.
“Huh. So that's what happened.”
After Jinhyeok or whatever his name was died, it looked like our Head Mod had recovered the nameplates belonging to the southern administrators he had possessed, and the three survivor regions in the south had been integrated into the Capital Area wholesale.
The anomalies in the Blank Zone had disappeared too.
“This changes things.”
So can we cross into those regions now?
ㄴ It should be possible.
Even if the anomalies have disappeared...
ㄴ It seems like we might be able to go;;
ㄴ But the half-destroyed roads and terrain haven't been restored;;
ㄴ I'm not sure ㅠ
ㄴ Hmm
Of course, it still seemed difficult to physically travel to the other regions.
But since the anomalies in the Blank Zone had disappeared, this might be something that could gradually be resolved to some extent.
“That's great!! Great!!!”
I had thought we'd be unable to accept any new customers, but now we had gained all these new customers.
“This is fucking sweet?”
This was an enormous gain for me.
The mere increase in population was clearly a tremendous advantage.
Title : *Announcement [Head Mod] Summary and Guidance for the Current Situation
The Galleries were integrated after the System's conditions were met while recovering the nameplates of the former administrators of Anseong, Cheonan, and Pyeongtaek ㅇㅇ
We welcome the survivors of those regions into the Capital Area.
Also, to the Myth Guild and Guild Master Yoon Seo-jin, who risked their lives fighting on the front lines,
you worked really hard ㅇㅇ
I will make another announcement later regarding detailed recovery plans and the exploration of the southern Blank Zone.
Wow, the Head Mod is here!!!
ㄴ The Head Mod was alive ㅠㅠㅠ You worked so hard, seriously ㅠㅠ
ㄴ So the Head Mod was the one who integrated the Galleries...!
ㄴ Holy shit, Head Mod
ㄴ Praise her
But according to the announcement, do the Galleries merge if you pick up a nameplate?
ㄴ Yeah, it said the conditions were met.
ㄴ Ohh
Then if we pick up nameplates from other regions too...
ㄴ We should go on a war of conquest too, right? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ Hey, you crazy bastard ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ Lmaoㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Did this bastard already forget that the guy who came to wage war on us a moment ago became a blood balloon in one second? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ Oh, right
ㄴ Oh, right, listen to this guy ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ If you act up, you'll get ejected into the Black Zone ㅇㅇ
ㄴ For real, that's fucking scary;;
ㄴ We can't do that;;
ㄴ For real
[Myth] Thanks to the System protecting us, our guild didn't suffer as much damage as we feared ㅠㅠ
ㄴ [Myth] System-nim! I did really well, right? I'm in your good graces, right? ^^
ㄴ [Troll NEET] Yeah, you did well
ㄴ [Myth] Hey, not you
ㄴ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ Seeing this Troll NEET bastard suddenly butting in ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Seo-jin really is trying to do well...
ㄴ Invitation... uh-uh, don't give her one
ㄴ No, no, don't give her one ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Along with the Head Mod's announcement, the Gallery remained in a festive mood.
My family home was in Cheonan ㅠ
ㄴ My younger sister lived in Pyeongtaek
Does anyone have my family here?
ㄴ My grandfather was in Pyeongtaek...
ㄴ Did your grandfather awaken?
ㄴ Hmm...
ㄴ Hmm...
Thus, the Gallery was filled with users trying to reunite separated families.
What happened in Anseong...?
ㄴ You said the Control Bureau branch was still there?
ㄴ Yes yes yes
ㄴ Tell us the story
I thought everyone there had been killed by Jinhyeok.
ㄴ How did you survive?
ㄴ Not everyone died.
ㄴ Some people were hiding.
ㄴ Some people escaped.
And users listening to stories from the other regions.
All right, first, there's something you need to know when you come to the Capital Area Gallery.
ㄴ Ah, yes yes
ㄴ First, Head Mod << Never order this person around
ㄴ Huh? Why?
ㄴ If I tell you not to, don't, you fucking idiot
ㄴ Yes;;
First, go read the announcement once.
ㄴ I read it, but...
ㄴ There's a Black Zone up here...?
ㄴ You don't have one there?
ㄴ Near Anseong, we only had a Red Zone outside the city...
ㄴ In Pyeongtaek, we only had an Orange Zone.
ㄴ Ohh
The Gallery was overflowing with users kindly explaining things to the newly arrived newbies.
“So each region has different danger zones.”
I joined in and slowly looked through everything as well.
[Healer Union] Bam~~ ba-bam~~ ba-bam~~ bam~~
ㄴ [Healer Union] I pray for employment at a healer guild in the Capital Area!!!
ㄴ ?
ㄴ Huh?
ㄴ What is this guy??
ㄴ Is he a newly arrived newbie...?
...Hey, unless you're an exceptional healer...
ㄴ You don't know that healers have trouble finding jobs?
ㄴ [Healer Union] “I know.”
ㄴ [Healer Union] Bam~~ ba-bam~~ ba-bam~~ bam~~
ㄴ ?
ㄴ Huh?
ㄴ Lmaoㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ Some weird guy just came in ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ What's wrong with this newbie's mental state...?
Some of the newly arrived users had rather strange personas.
“A weird one joined...”
I watched them for a while, then turned the screen back to the status window.
Of course, the increase in users and customers for the Shop was something to welcome with open arms, but I had one very practical concern.
“Will my ability... reach all the way down to those neighborhoods?”
Until now, tile copying and item delivery had only been possible within the existing Capital Area Survivors Gallery network.
But even if the Gallery had suddenly been forcibly expanded like this, there was no guarantee that deliveries or tile copies would reach that far.
With mixed feelings, I brought up a 3D map in the air.
“Huh?”
Astonishingly, the map had changed.
The fog of the Blank Zone that had blocked off the southern Capital Area had cleared completely from the map as well, and I could see the terrain of Cheonan, Pyeongtaek, and Anseong clearly.
“No way... does this work?”
I decided to conduct an experiment immediately.
After zooming in on a suitable vacant lot in the [Anseong] region on the map,
I copied a [Restroom] tile and tried installing it there.
Meanwhile, a desperate plea for help suddenly appeared in the Gallery.
Title : Fuck, a strange cube appeared in the air over Anseong!!!!
Isn't this that thing you guys were talking about earlier???
This is a Black Zone, right???
Fuck, save me, I didn't do anything, so why did it appear!!!
Gasp, a Black Zone??
ㄴ It appeared on our side too??
ㄴ Run, you lunatic!!!
The newbies, having just heard that the Black Zone had turned Jinhyeok into a blood balloon, all panicked and began screaming in despair.
Seeing that, I shouted.
“Fuck! It works! It works!!!”
It reaches all the way there. If tile copying works, that means...
“Delivery works too!!”
But... I don't think this is that Black Zone thing...
ㄴ What's inside??
Ah... there's no need to run, newbies...
ㄴ You guys don't know?
ㄴ Huh?
ㄴ That's a T O I L E T.
ㄴ A toilet...?
Right, if you pay ten mana stones for ten minutes, you can wash up and use a bidet too.
ㄴ What????
ㄴ That's a lie... There's no way something like that exists...
ㄴ That only existed before the apocalypse...
I forgot to explain the most important thing...
ㄴ The most important thing you need to know after coming to the Capital Area Gallery
ㄴ I should tell you about the Shop...
ㄴ The Shop?
ㄴ Ah! Come to think of it, that's the System that was supposed to work only in the Capital Area!!
Just as the Gallery's entire topic began converging on one subject.
Ding-!
[Hidden Achievement Unlocked!]
[Achievement Name: Guardian of the Capital Area]
[You protected the entire Capital Area. What an astonishing achievement!]
A notification appeared telling me that I had unlocked a hidden achievement.
“What the hell.”
I unlocked another achievement? This time it's Guardian of the Capital Area?
“Was it really that big a deal...?”
Considering Jinhyeok bro got completely beaten by that Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Zombie Teacher friend, he didn't seem like someone that strong.
Wow, but why does it let me unlock hidden achievements this easily?
Isn't this way too much of a freebie?
Anyway, what was the reward?
[Reward will be issued]
[Free Shop Member Upgrade: 4,000 >>> 8,000!]
[The inventory limit for already registered stock has increased.]
[Meat Bowls 200 >> 2000]
[Tuna Cans 100 >> 1000]
[Odasoo 700 >> 2000]
“Wooooooah!!!!”
The limit on registerable inventory, which normally would have required an enormous amount of mana stones to upgrade, had increased dramatically.
“Nice??”
But the joy lasted only a moment.
“Do I even have that much stock...?”
I didn't have that much stock on the shelves I owned.
[Mana stones currently held: 12,110]
Besides, I had already spent all my mana stones dealing with Jinhyeok bro, so I couldn't own a new tile right away.
“Fuck! It's just a picture of a rice cake!!”
Just as I was about to tear my hair out and scream.
Ding-!
[The reward continues]
[Four spaces of the Basement 1 supermarket's 'Back-End Distribution Warehouse Tile' have been permanently unlocked!]
Looking at the blueprint, I saw that the tiles extending behind the wall past the meat and liquor corners had become owned tiles.
“Holy shiiit!!”
I immediately sprang out of the one-touch tent and threw open the swing door bearing the newly unlocked [Authorized Personnel Only] sign.
This wasn't a display shelf.
I could see part of an actual distribution warehouse, with stock piled high on spacious pallets.
“Great System! Praise the Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Z-Zombie Teacher!!!”
I could now supply customers with overwhelming quantities of inventory. It should be enough to supply the increased limit.
“The reward timing is fucking insane.”
[Building Master Quest 5: Reach 6,000 Shop Members]
[Current: 4,000/6,000]
[Reward: ???]
It also happened that the quest required me to increase the number of members.
[Blueprint Copy Lv.5]
[Currently copyable tiles: 10/20]
And thanks to upgrading the Blueprint Copy skill in advance, I had enough tile copies.
“Open wide, newbies!!!”
This time, I decided to hit the newly arrived newbies with Restrooms, the Shop, and member invitations.
I would give them all three kinds of dopamine at once.
*****
And then a new announcement was posted in the Gallery.
- [★Starplex★] Notice Regarding New Restroom Installation and Member Expansion
Holy shit!!!!!!!!
ㄴ Take off your clothes and scream!!!!!!!
ㄴ What!!! What!!!
ㄴ Eight thousand members...?
ㄴ It doubled again!!!
ㄴ Holy shit!!!!
I'm in Pyeongtaek, and a restroom was installed here too!!!!
ㄴ In Cheonan too!!!!
ㄴ No way, actual water is coming out!!!
ㄴ Whaa?
But what about the member invitations??
ㄴ What! What is it! Tell us!!!
ㄴ Fuck, we can't tell you this.
ㄴ Huh?
ㄴ Sorry, newbies, but this is urgent for me too.
ㄴ Same here, I have to do it too, so I can't take questions.
Still, to give you one tip...
ㄴ First, take your clothes off.
ㄴ Huh?
ㄴ First strip and upload a lewd picture.
ㄴ Huh???
ㄴ ???
ㄴ No, how can you say something like that...
ㄴ Isn't that incredibly rude...?
ㄴ Won't you get banned...?
The Capital Area Survivors Gallery was peaceful today as well.
----
[System Admin Log]
....
....
[Access Authority: Observer]
[One of the protagonists has died]
[Timeline collapse related to the Zombie Tamer scenario]
[The calculated possibilities for the future will be permanently discarded]
----
[Ending 776 – Incomplete Conqueror – Discarded]
- Not yet... not yet... To enslave the Black Zone... I need a larger... larger army.
On a throne made of bones, Baek Jinhyeok rested his chin on his hand, his eyes gleaming with murky madness and fear.
The place once called the Capital Area had become a gigantic butcher shop, with countless humans bound together and hanging upside down.
Among the forest of survivors dangling with their limbs tied, enslaved mutants prowled about, drooling hungrily.
- Flesh, save me...
- Aaaaaagh!!
The screams of flesh being torn away from living bodies. Spraying blood and vivid terror.
Guarding the steps of that throne were guild members of the great guilds and Stalkers who had once fought to the end to protect the Capital Area.
They had now become meat shields, their pale faces and stitched necks lolling as they waited only for their master's orders.
Yet even after reaching the perfect position, endless hallucinations flickered across Jinhyeok's vision.
The heads of the corpses hanging upside down and spilling their entrails twisted in unison, then began whispering toward him.
- Great protagonist. When on earth will the preparations be finished?
- We were sacrificed... isn't it time for you to go enslave that monster on the tenth floor?
- Do you truly intend to march into the Black Zone...?
Whenever those mocking auditory hallucinations bored into his eardrums.
He remembered how he had obeyed the rules, offered up his own teeth and flesh, and had to flee miserably.
- Shut up... shut up! We can't go yet... We still can't handle the Black Zone at this level...!
In the middle of that hell, where the screams of struggling human livestock echoed without end.
- Ugh... uuuugh...!!
The man who claimed to be the protagonist of the world trembled, crushed beneath a fear he would never overcome, tearing at his own ears.
....
[Ending 776 – Incomplete Conqueror – Discarded]
[Discard complete]
...
....
[Ending 777 – Peaceful Tamer – Discarded]
- Mr. Jinhyeok, did you bring that creepy thing home again?
- Please leave it outside!!!
Though he could hear his companions complaining in disgust, Baek Jinhyeok smiled amiably and carefully fed jerky to the small mutant in his arms.
Then he opened the Gallery and entered a comment.
[Zombie Lover] Chun-sik finally licked my hand today...
ㄴ [Zombie Lover] Please show our zombies lots of love...
ㄴ Hey.
ㄴ Please, change your username;;
ㄴ Is he seriously insane?
ㄴ It's amazing his companions haven't abandoned that bastard, for real.
Baek Jinhyeok, who spent peaceful days as a well-known user of the Capital Area Survivors Gallery.
[Troll NEET] Hey, Lover bro... please enslave my housemate too...
One day, a user named Troll NEET left him a request in the comments.
- If you connect through love, anything will work. Leave it to me!
Baek Jinhyeok shouted confidently.
[Troll NEET] (Roughly, a picture of a housemate. JPG)
When he checked the picture uploaded from beyond the screen, he froze stiffly.
[Zombie Lover] ...I don't think even love can make this work...
ㄴ [Troll NEET] Sigh;
----
[Ending 777 – Peaceful Tamer – Discarded]
[Discard complete]
...
...
[Ending 788 – Hero of the South – Discarded]
[Ending 789 – Zombie Lover – Discarded]
...
...
[Discard complete]
[Calculating unidentified variables. Calculating new causality...]
....
....
[Warning: The liberation of the intervals between regions has been achieved far too quickly compared to the scheduled timeline!]
[Adjusting the difficulty of the worldline]
[The customized update schedule for the affected region will be moved forward significantly]