Chapter 55
Meanwhile, the Capital Area Integrated Survivors' Gallery.
Here, as the hot thread opened by the Head Mod continued burning in real time, users were proposing various solutions of their own.
Title : *Hot Thread [Head Mod] Devising Countermeasures for Patch 2
Anyone who stirs up trouble will be banned immediately without warning
From now on, post only realistic countermeasures against insect-borne infection
First, let's assume the most threatening insects are mosquitoes
Guild, party, or solo doesn't matter; if you have an idea, say anything
First, fill every nearby pool of stagnant water with soil
ㄴ This is damn true; there are tons of unmaintained puddles
ㄴ The fucking undrinkable sewage water in abandoned sewers is a breeding ground for mosquitoes ㅇㅇ
But this is too temporary... isn't that thinking too far ahead?
ㄴ There must already be way more hatched mosquitoes, though?
ㄴ For real, go outside. It's crawling with mosquitoes
ㄴ Then we should at least do this, damn it. Are you saying we shouldn't even do that?
But does that mean the water sources will get infected too? Mosquitoes breed in sewage water to begin with.
ㄴ Exactly. If you buy sewage water and drink it, chewing on mosquito larvae is free protein. What a bargain.
ㄴ [Head Mod] Hmm... If water sources could be infected too, it would've been written in the patch
ㄴ Ah, right
ㄴ True, that would be water-source contamination ㅇㅇ
[Head Mod] So what we need to worry about immediately is saliva transmission from contact with or bites by insects
ㄴ That's right ㅇㅇ
ㄴ Hmm, then we should fill them in, right?
ㄴ Let's fill them in, let's fill them in
First up was environmental control.
The realists taking the middle ground suggested physically eliminating insects' breeding grounds and habitats.
Title : [God of War] Shouldn't we start by burning the corpses abandoned in the streets?
We can't use fuel, so we'll temporarily recruit and mobilize fire mages
Oh, an environmental cleanup drive ㅅㅅ
ㄴ Is the patch <<< this bastard telling us to clean the streets? ㅇㅇ
ㄴ For realㅋㅋㅋㅋ
But wouldn't lighting a huge fire attract even more insects at night?
ㄴ Seems like it'd draw insane aggro
ㄴ [God of War] Hmm..
ㄴ Still, wouldn't it be better than doing nothing?
ㄴ Of course we should
[Myth] Should we each catch 100 insects again?
ㄴ Doesn't seem impossible...
ㄴ Would that even be efficient?
That's true too
ㄴ Who's going to do it if you tell us to catch 100 flies instead of scavenging scrap starting today?
ㄴ For real, I need to scavenge scrap quickly
ㄴ I need to buy bottled water!
And who's going to inspect them?
ㄴ The Head Mod and deputy mods?
ㄴ Why should I let those guys inspect me?
ㄴ Exactlyㅋㅋ
ㄴ The Head Mod, maybe, but the deputy mods? ㅋㅋㄱ
Do you think over 90,000 users will all obey?
ㄴ How long has it been since everyone started fending for themselves? Would they do it just because you tell them to now? ㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ Besides, what about users in the provinces?
ㄴ Are you telling a user in Cheonan to come all the way to the Capital Area for an inspection?
But they soon reached the conclusion that moderate methods had their limits.
[Head Mod] Hmm... Having everyone bring in insects they've caught seems realistically impossible
ㄴ [Speedrun] IcanrealisticallydoittooIcanusemy‘speed’thatissecondtonone tocapture100insects in‘2.1seconds’thisistherecordIjustsetafterariskingmylifeandIwillnowworktobeatit
ㄴ That's possible because you're you, Speedrun;;
ㄴ Speed guy... please don't suggest methods only you can do....
[Ironclad] Then our only option is to block them physically
ㄴ [Ironclad] Starting tonight, we'll take shifts standing guard overnight in groups of five so no one gets bitten ㅇㅇ
ㄴ Kya, as expected of military-style experience ㄷㄷ
ㄴ But since we're Awakeners, we could endure several sleepless nights...
ㄴ We'd hit our limits eventually all the same ㅇㅇ
There were no police or civil servants like before the apocalypse, so we could not expect any administrative power, and uniting survivors who had endured the apocalypse for over half a year was nearly impossible.
In the midst of this, the mysterious wise troll NEET appeared.
[Troll NEET] Hmm, actually, I don't think we need to debate like this
ㄴ [Troll NEET] Actually, wouldn't it be reasonably safe if we focused on managing ordinary people?
ㄴ [Troll NEET] Awakeners have infection resistance, right? ㅇㅇ
ㄴ Oh
ㄴ That is true
ㄴ I think so too ㅇㅇ
That's right. Even those from the Green Zone have infection resistance, albeit minimal.
ㄴ If we focus on caring for ordinary people who have no infection resistance at all...
ㄴ Couldn't we get through this safely?
ㄴ Only because we don't have a way to do that
ㄴ How would we care for them?
Thus, the discussion naturally shifted to the most devastating weakness of this patch: non-Awakeners and vulnerable groups.
[White Night] What if our large guilds divided up the zones and took in and protected ordinary people?
ㄴ [White Night] Gather them in one place and have Awakeners take turns standing guard while strictly controlling infection
ㄴ [Unlucky Gallery Doctor] Seems best to isolate those bastards suspected of infection and assign separate residential areas to the rest
Sounds good?
ㄴ If the guilds act, it's not entirely impossible ㅇㅇ
ㄴ Small parties can cooperate too ㅇㅇ
Let's try it with the ordinary villages we can at least account for now
ㄴ I've traveled with scavengers a lot, so I know some villages
ㄴ [Ironclad] Even that should let us control more than half, I think
ㄴ [God of War] ...We'll cooperate ㅇㅇ
As the moderate faction argued for isolating and managing ordinary people at the guild level, opposition from the hardliners surged.
?
ㄴ Why should we do that?
ㄴ Are parties and guilds charities?
ㄴ Do you think I came here to volunteer? Ahㅋㅋ
My party can barely protect its own lives, so why should we guard deadweight? (Seriously asking)
ㄴ For realㅋㅋ What the fuckㅋㅋ
Honestly, ordinary people aren't useful anywayㅋㅋ
ㄴ They're the idiots who fled the Zone at the very beginning of the apocalypse and never awakenedㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ For real, they're cowards. Why should we keep them alive?
As opposition from the hardliners began flooding in, the moderates and hardliners started arguing heatedly.
Let's just cull the ordinary people while we're at it ㅇㅇ
ㄴ It'd be better to wipe them all out or expel them now before they mutate and attack us
ㄴ Should we just kill them all?
?
ㄴ Are you insane?
ㄴ It's fucking cruel, but... isn't it technically not wrong?
ㄴ It's realistic ㅇㅇ
Are you people even human?
ㄴ Are you suggesting a massacre right now?
ㄴ Are you telling us to kill our families?
ㄴ Go kill your own families first, then say that, you orphaned assholesㅋㅋㅋ
I already killed my younger brother and older sister with my own hands after they were infected in the first month of the apocalypse, though?
ㄴ Gasp
ㄴ So we should all die just to preserve our consciences?
ㄴ And I'm not saying your families should die just because mine did.
ㄴ If you don't make the hard decision now, the family you saved because of your conscience could infect me tomorrow.
No, fuck, even so, how can you kill people who are still alive?!
ㄴ Why are ordinary people useless? They carry stuff while farming and even serve as meat shields in an emergency!!
ㄴ There are even ordinary people more skilled than shut-in Stalker bastards like you ㅇㅇ
If things fester from within the safe zones, we're screwed.
ㄴ We barely stopped the last wave thanks to the System; do you think we can stop it if shit goes wrong from within?
ㄴ If we hesitate, we'll all die ㅇㅇ
ㄴ I vote for a massacre too, honestly ㅇㅇ
Just as this suffocating conversation reached its climax.
The Head Mod, who had been watching, finally stepped in.
[Head Mod] Don't cross the line, everyone
ㄴ [Head Mod] I'll permanently ban anyone who brings up a massacre and pay them a real-life visit
ㄴ Yeah, fuck, don't cross the line, you assholes
ㄴ For real, that's too far;;
[Head Mod] The best option is to create and manage quarantine zones for each guild
ㄴ I agree
ㄴ I agree ㅇㅇ
As the Head Mod brought the situation to a close for the moment, practical problems began to be pointed out as well.
But how are we supposed to house all the ordinary people in the first place?
ㄴ The guilds are already building barracks and using intact abandoned buildings as bases
ㄴ Do we even have space to house them?
ㄴ Hmm...
[Myth] For now, I agree with that approach. Let's build as many spare barracks as possible and begin by housing the ordinary people we can count.
ㄴ [God of War] We don't have time to deliberate anymore. Let's act first and reinforce it as we go.
ㄴ [Ironclad] The Yellow Zone works too. We have more intact buildings than the Orange Zone, so it should be easier.
ㄴ [White Night] Let's do as much as we can ㅇㅇ
Seems like it won't be enough...
ㄴ For real, I don't think it'll work
ㄴ Will cramming them into abandoned buildings solve anything?
Even after they devised a countermeasure, the problem of there being no safe spaces capable of housing everyone still remained.
After a little time passed, just as bleak despair once again descended over the Gallery.
A post suddenly appeared.
It said that the ordinary people had supplies.
Title : ?!! What the hell are these bastards????
I came near Migeum Station to hand over some ordinary people, and they've got tents??
?
ㄴ What are you talking about?
ㄴ How would they have tents?
No, seriously, they all have tents
ㄴ Pop-up tents... family tents...
ㄴ Mosquito-screen tents... There are a fucking wide variety...
ㅇ?
ㄴ Fuck, what is this...?
ㄴ No, I'm in the Orange Zone
ㄴ Some of them even have mosquito coils??
ㄴ Some of them have insect nets too
ㄴ Some people even have F-Killer...
ㅇ?
ㄴ Where the hell did all this come from...?
ㄴ We don't even have that stuff...?
ㄴ No, fuck, I'm insanely jealous of those insect nets...?
ㄴ What is this?
Just as the Gallery users were piecing together the clues one by one.
After hearing what they had to say...
ㄴ They say a portal suddenly opened in the sky and the supplies fell out...?
ㄴ The sky...?
ㄴ A... portal??
!!!!
ㄴ No way!!!
ㄴ Ah!!! Is it that person again!!!
ㄴ Nothing but light!!!!!!
They realized who had given those supplies to the ordinary people.
*****
Meanwhile, I was panting heavily on the first basement level.
“Fuuuuck... H-huff... H-huff...”
I had a hard time accurately dividing and calculating the quantities of supplies on the Camping section shelves on the first basement level.
“Fuck, this is exhausting...!”
The ordinary villages the Gallery user had told me about were more varied than I expected, and their sizes differed, so this time I had to distribute things more precisely than during the meat wave.
“Maybe the weight of three loads went up a little?”
Once I had sorted everything, I found there were quite a lot of types of items I could provide to help with this patch.
Large family tents, two-person tents, mosquito nets, electric mosquito swatters, ordinary flyswatters, air mattresses, spiral mosquito coils, F-Killer, insect nets, and various other insect traps...
“But it's not enough...”
Considering the size of ordinary-person residential areas scattered throughout the Capital Area, the stock displayed on the shelves was obviously nowhere near enough.
[Blueprint Control (Lv.4 → Lv.5)]
[Mana Stones Required for Upgrade: 150,000]
[Mana Stones Currently Held: 574,555 mana stones]
▶ [Mana Stones Currently Held: 424,555 mana stones]
That's why I chose to acquire ownership of the Camping section's warehouse behind the shelves.
[Large Warehouse Behind Living/Camping Section - Tiles Required for Ownership: 6]
[Spend 6 tiles to acquire ownership of the area!]
[Current Remaining Available Tiles: 14]
It was a much more economical expenditure than using Paid Refill.
[Paid Refill - Cost: 600,000 mana stones]
“That's fucking expensive.”
Refilling the six-tile Camping section required an absurd amount of mana stones, and since acquiring it in the first place fully refilled its stock, there was no need to do this.
Naturally, the warehouse held, without exaggeration, five times as many supplies as the shelves, so I nearly worked myself to death.
Honestly, toward the end I just delivered things roughly by eye.
“Agh, Jomsaem! I keep telling you, don't just watch—help me already!!!”
Grrr-!
I was annoyed that Jomsaem's crotch just sat there watching with all those eyes and didn't help at all.
“Hmph, Baby Jomsaem is having such an easy time! Hmph.”
I'm joking. You all know that, right?
I opened the Gallery like that.
Title : Damn!!!! Shop!!! It's you again!!!!!!
Set up the online Shop!! Set up a restroom! Set up a pharmacy!!
Because this fucking awful patch came through!!!
You're sending tents and mosquito nets so the most vulnerable ordinary people can prepare and prevent infection??
For free, too?????
Ahh... The true GOAT... We worship you... Shining Starplex....
Nothing but shining Starplex...
ㄴ Nothing but the GOAT...
ㄴ The System really is a god ㅇㅇ
Should we build a statue, just once?
ㄴ What does Starplex look like?
ㄴ Can't we just make it roughly resemble Cha Eun-woo's face?
ㄴ Kya
ㄴ That's it
No, but why did you give them electric flyswattersㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ Electric flyswatter <<< This is truly the pinnacle of lost technologyㅋㅋㅋㅋ
??? : You mean there's an artifact that can repeatedly fire lightning just by using it without worrying about mana??
ㄴ The Thunder God's Flyswatter, an artifact you can't even get in the Red Zone ㄷㄷ;;
ㄴ Lightning-element mage: Haa... Those blessed ordinary people's mana pools are insane... They're firing lightning that rapidly?
A battery...? Are you referring to an ultra-dense mana compression stone containing and suppressing the power of that electrode...?
ㄴ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Fuck offㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ Ah, this gimmick is fucking insaneㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Ordinary middle-aged men are already hunting mosquitoes with crackling sounds;;
ㄴ Immediately changed classes to Mosquito and Fly Hunterㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ Mosquito Specialist Hunter, my assㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ That's fucking cool, for real
Naturally, the Gallery users seemed to be reacting positively.
“That's a relief.”
Of course, even after delivering every last supply in the warehouse, it would still be woefully insufficient, but it was much better than doing nothing.
Title : Today's Gallery Users vs. System-nim Countermeasure Ability Comparisonㅋㅋㅋㅋ
Gallery users: Ah~~ there's no space to house ordinary people~~~ blah blah~~ Should we just massacre them? (They really said this ㅇㅇ)
The Great System: Here, have some tents. Sleep outside~ I'll give you mosquito-screen tents~ I'll spray F-Killer~
Kya... That's what I'm talking about..
No! Even after this, you don't think the System is a constellation???
ㄴ I told you, it's trying to save us!!!
ㄴ Ah, I get itㅋㅋㅋ It's trueㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ For real, we've reached our first conclusion alreadyㅋㅋㅋ
Should we just massacre them?
ㄴ They really said thatㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ For real, that's fucking chilling
No, but... the blessed ordinary people survived... What about us?
ㄴ Huh?
ㄴ Mosquito nets << Why didn't you give us any...?
ㄴ For real, we fucking need these too??
Sell mosquito nets and insect nets to us too, Shop!!!
ㄴ I know you're watching this!!! Please sell us mosquito nets!!!
ㄴ We'll pay mana stones too, so please sell them!!!!! Please!!!!
Just as Gallery users began causing a commotion, I sat down on the floor and thought.
“If I'd known the reaction would be this positive, I should've sold them ages ago.”
Looking at this, tents and mosquito nets themselves probably would've been popular even without this insect infection.
Of course, more essential things took priority, so I had done my best within the limits of what I could do.
For now, since this wasn't a normal situation, I responded not by registering the items in the Shop, but by distributing everything to ordinary people.
I also ruled out copying tiles, since someone would ultimately have to pay mana stones for them.
“What a shame...”
I wonder how much I could charge if I registered large tents.
“For now, preventing it is definitely what's important.”
But seriously, isn't this at least manageable now??
ㄴ At least we have tents and mosquito coils <<< The difficulty drops like hell
ㄴ We can drastically reduce the number of people on night watch ㄷㄷ
ㄴ We just have to zap the ones that happen to get in with electric flyswatters, so fatigue drops like hell
ㄴ Honestly, with this much item advantage, Awakeners can really handle it
[Myth] Honestly, we were at a loss because of the lack of housing space... but this really seems manageable now...
ㄴ [God of War] Fuck... Now it's genuinely manageable ㅇㅇ
ㄴ [Ironclad] Now we just need to let them pitch tents around the barracks and stand guard
ㄴ Look at all the guild masters breathing a collective sigh of reliefㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㄴ Honestly, the night-watch staffing must have given them a fucking headache...
ㄴ For real
Fortunately, the guild masters' reactions were positive too.
“But if I'd known this would happen, I should've just sent the supplies to the guilds.”
I hadn't expected everyone to unite and work together like this.
[Mana Stones Currently Held: 424,555 mana stones]
For now, I planned to conserve as many mana stones as possible so I could at least refill stock in an emergency.
“For now... it'll refill again in three days... so let's watch the situation a bit.”
I headed to the tent I'd set up in the second-floor Gardening Garden to sleep.
I'm so sleepy after all that work.
“Please let this be enough...”
I prayed that this much would be enough.
*****
At the same time. On the outskirts of the Yellow Zone.
In front of the ordinary-person reception area the Ironclad guild had temporarily prepared.
An endless line of ordinary people stretched out in front of it.
“Everyone, keep order and form two lines!!”
“Bring the tents, mosquito coils, and other items you possess, and we'll verify your identity and conduct a physical examination before admission!”
Armed Ironclad guild members continued directing the crowd irritably by torchlight.
They held tightly to the pop-up tents and mosquito coils the existence called the System had delivered moments earlier.
“It's a god... It has to be a god...”
“It wants to save us... our worthless, insect-like lives...”
“Thank you so much...”
Some prayed toward the sky, while others buried their faces in tent boxes and wiped away tears.
As time passed after the apocalypse arrived, no one had even considered protecting them.
To people like them, these supplies were no different from a miracle.
“Don't push!!! Hey! Do you want to die!”
“Hey!! You'll enter in order!!”
But it was already dark.
It was nearly impossible from the outset for only a few hundred guild members to inspect, one by one, an uncountable number of ordinary people.
“Sh...it... How many people are coming...”
“Combining checkpoints 1 and 2, they say it's already over 2,000.”
A dispute was even breaking out at one side of the entrance where physical examinations were being conducted.
“No, even so! How can you tell me to make my daughter take off her clothes out in the open like this?!”
A father clutching his daughter tightly in his arms was shouting, veins bulging in his neck.
The father had objected to the guild member's demand to inspect her entire body for signs of infection.
“Ah, fuck, seriously. Hey.”
The Ironclad guild member conducting the examination approached, scratching his head irritably.
“The world ended. Law? Morality? Those things disappeared over half a year ago. If you're going to make a commotion and waste time like this, get the hell somewhere else.”
“B-But... even so, how can you openly tell a little girl to take off her clothes...”
“You dense old man.”
The guild member soon leaned close to the father's ear and whispered.
“Do you think anyone will blink if you disappear? Do you know how hard I'm busting my ass because of you people right now?”
“...!”
“We can accommodate even this many only because the System helped us.”
At the instant the color drained from the father's face.
“Hey!! Fuck!! What are you doing over there!!”
A senior guild member who had been directing the crowd ahead shouted urgently.
“Can't you see the people backed up behind you?!”
“Ah, yes, yes!”
“We have to accommodate them all by the day after tomorrow at the latest!!! We don't have time!!!”
“Ah... yes, understood!”
Badgered by his senior, the guild member clicked his tongue and jerked his chin toward the father and daughter.
“Consider yourselves lucky. Go in.”
“Th-Thank you...! Thank you...!”
The father repeatedly bowed and hurriedly carried his daughter into the shelter.
Clicking his tongue as he watched, the guild member shone his torch toward the next person.
“All right, next!”
At the guild member's irritated shout, a filthy woman covered in a scrap of cloth approached.
“Remove all your upper and lower clothing. No exceptions for women.”
At the guild member's command, the woman removed the scrap of cloth covering her body.
“Hmm. Her belongings are a mosquito net.”
The guild member thrust the torch close and searched carefully, but found no trace of infection anywhere on the body, which had been reduced to bones.
“Good. Go in.”
“...you...”
“What?”
“Thank... you...”
A hoarse, scraping voice, as though phlegm were bubbling in her throat. Her pronunciation was unclear.
“Has she lost her mind... Whatever, get in for now. Next!”
“Thank you... Thank you...”
The guild member dismissed her as one of the people who had lost her mind in the ruined world.
“Thank... you...nida...”
But he failed to notice.
Not until the woman had passed the temporary checkpoint and completely disappeared into the darkness.
“Th... ank you...”
The woman's two eyes were clouded and dead, unfocused.
And in the empty space between her open jaws where her tongue should have been.
“Thank... you...”
Her mouth was packed completely full of a swarm of maggots.
“Thank... you...”
Each time the maggots filling her esophagus scraped against her vocal cords, the grotesque friction merely assembled and spat out the pronunciation.
Finally, through the woman's open jaws.
- Plop!
“Thank you.”
The maggots spilled onto the ground.