Multivers, Leveling Up in the World I Created

As soon as we finished unloading the supplies from the car, Glenn told the group he was leaving.

"I think I should get going now."

Lee tried to stop him. "This place is a bit outside the city. We can hold out here for a while. Are you sure you want to leave? Wouldn't it be better to stay?"

"I'd like to, but I have friends trapped in Atlanta. I can't stay here knowing they're stuck in the city."

"Macon is already this bad with infected. Atlanta, being a major city, will be worse."

"I have to try."

Hearing this, I called Glenn over.

"Glenn, come here for a second."

I led him to the Scorpion MRAP and handed him a dagger, a pistol, ammunition, and some dried food.

"We've met for a reason. Take these. And for the record, Yoona is the best in Girls' Generation."

Glenn chuckled. "Taeyeon is the best. Anyway, thanks. If we survive, maybe we'll see each other again."

"Yeah. Good luck."

I gave his shoulder a light pat.

Glenn loaded the weapons and supplies into his pizza delivery car and headed off to Atlanta, where the Walking Dead TV show begins.

Larry, Lilly's father, saw this and suddenly started complaining.

"Why are you wasting precious resources on someone who's leaving?! Are you out of your mind?!"

"What I do with the supplies I secured is none of your business. Listen here. You're staying at this motel because we cleared it out for you. You should be grateful, not acting like you own the place the moment you arrive. If you don't like it, you can leave."

"You little—!"

Larry couldn't control his anger and threw a punch.

But there was no way I'd be hit by such a slow attack.

I caught his fist with one hand and squeezed.

Crack!

Crunch!

"AAAGH!"

"Old man, pick your targets more carefully."

Lilly rushed over. "Calm down and let go of my dad!"

"Jin, let him go. You know injuries can be fatal in this situation."

When Lee stepped in, I released Larry.

But the old man started running his mouth again as soon as he was free.

"Ugh... damn it! I said that for everyone's good!"

"If you really meant for everyone's good, stop the politics and shut your mouth! Don't you realize that without that Asian guy's car, we wouldn't have been able to bring back all these supplies? I heard you couldn't even walk because of your heart condition and had to ride in the passenger seat. At the very least, a decent human being would remember the kindness they've received."

Larry was taken aback by the facts I laid out.

Even the others were giving him cold looks.

"I, I didn't know he brought the car..."

In the original, Larry constantly stirred up trouble with his politicking.

But as long as I was around, I wasn't going to let that slide.

"One thing's for sure, you've lost the group's trust with that little stunt. You'd better watch your step from now on."

I ended the conversation and took frozen food from the Scorpion MRAP, heated it up in the microwave, and served everyone a meal.

Funny enough, Larry also accepted his share.

After all that big talk, he still ate the food shameless as always.

While we were eating, a loud explosion echoed from a distance.

The Air Force must have been bombing the city.

Kenny looked up at the sky and said, "I hope that sound is the sound of victory driving the infected away."

"Yeah, I hope so too."

Kenny looked around the motel and said, "This motel seems like a pretty good place to defend. If we block the entrance with a few vehicles and take turns standing watch, we could hold out until the military arrives."

"What about your boat plan?"

"I'd love to head straight there, but the situation is what it is. It's better to prepare properly before we leave. We've got a new camper van now, too."

"True... that's safer for now."

The motel was shaped like a 'ㄷ', making it fairly defensible.

If we blocked the single entrance properly, we could hold off a horde for a considerable time.

With plenty of rooms, space wasn't an issue, and since it used groundwater, water was also available.

It was definitely a decent place for a survival base.

But electricity was a problem, the power went out right after the bombing.

"Don't worry, everyone. I brought a generator from the hardware store. It's dark now, but we'll have power again starting tomorrow."

Doug reassured the group, but a generator needed fuel to run.

In this world, finding fuel to keep it going could be even harder than getting electricity.

We assigned rooms and started resting.

Kenny's family used the new camper van, and I slept in the Scorpion MRAP with Clem.

But Lee, feeling bad that I was sleeping uncomfortably in the driver's seat, decided to take a motel room instead.

"I'm tired. Do I really have to brush my teeth?"

"Yes. In times like this, hygiene is even more important. Neglect it and you'll get sick quickly."

"Okay."

Clem was reluctant, but hygiene couldn't be overlooked.

In an apocalypse, even a small illness could be fatal.

The moment your body weakened, your survival odds dropped drastically.

The next day came.

After breakfast, we started siphoning gas from unused vehicles to power the generator.

Then Doug and I cut the iron pipes we'd brought and attached daggers to the ends, making spears.

But they weren't simple spears—we added a small blade on the side like a poleaxe, allowing both thrusting and chopping.

Finally, we wrapped the handles with electrical tape for a better grip.

"Not too long, so the weight is manageable and it's easy to carry."

Doug swung the finished spear a few times and seemed quite pleased.

"Yeah. It turned out better than I thought. Now that we know the trick, let's make a few more."

"Got it."

While we worked on weapons, the others used available materials to barricade the motel entrance.

It was a crude job, wooden planks, dumpsters, and unusable vehicles—but it was still better than nothing.

By evening, we'd made six spears and distributed them along with the guns.

"Everyone has a gun now, so use them wisely. If you don't know how to shoot, learn from me, Lilly, or Lee. Try not to shoot yourselves in the leg."

People started laughing.

"Food is still plentiful, but fuel is the problem. Tomorrow, I'll go get more fuel. There's a gas station nearby according to the map I got from the general store. I plan to bring back as much as I can. We also need someone to manage the food supply... Since Doug and Carley don't have families, I think they'd be best for the job. If someone with a family does it, they might prioritize their own in an emergency."

Carley raised her hand. "I'll do it. Doug's busy with maintenance and repairs anyway."

"Alright. I appreciate it."

With that, all the food except the frozen items was moved to Carley's room.

From canned goods to flour and rice, the steady stream of supplies from the Scorpion MRAP surprised the group.

"No wonder you said we have enough food."

"I raided a supermarket before coming here. That's why. We also need to keep an eye on expiration dates."

"Got it."

The reason I'd assigned someone to manage the food was that I needed to free up space in the car.

Suddenly, Lilly called me over. "Can we talk?"

"What about?"

"About my dad. He wants to apologize. He didn't know the situation because of his heart condition. He understands now, how hard we worked to get his medicine and how we brought him here in the car."

"Good. I don't hold grudges."

"That's a relief."

I said that, but it didn't mean I trusted them completely.

In the original, they caused plenty of trouble for the group.

At least Lilly was more reasonable than Larry, but she was also stubborn and stuck to her own opinions.

The next day, I borrowed Kenny's truck and headed to the gas station.

There were a few infected around, but since it was a remote location, there weren't many.

I dealt with them easily, used [Telekinesis] to fill two drums with gasoline and diesel from the storage tanks, and filled the cans I'd brought as well.

The gas station also had a small convenience store that hadn't been looted yet, so I grabbed whatever food was left.

Most of it was snacks and candy not ideal, but in an apocalypse, anything edible was precious.

After that, I hid the truck and quickly scouted Washington D.C. and several military facilities to assess the situation.

Since it was still early in the outbreak, quite a few units were still intact, and some were actively engaging the infected.

'Looks like I can't deploy the aircraft carrier yet.'

If I launched it while the military was still operational, they'd immediately send a transmission.

That would drag me into all sorts of trouble, so I decided to hold off on the carrier for now.

I returned to the truck and drove back to the motel.

"Wow! You brought back that much fuel? And food too!"

"Fill up the vehicles first. As for the generator, we'll need to be careful with the fuel from now on, it's not easy to find. Let's only use it for pumping groundwater."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

From that day on, I started teaching the group how to fight zombies.

If they learned while supplies were still plentiful, they'd have an easier time dealing with infected later.

And as their combat ability improved, the burden on me would lighten, and the number of "Can you do this?" requests would decrease.

"Watch their center of gravity. Infected are clumsy walkers. If you can throw off their balance, the rest is easy. Aim for the leg they're stepping on, they'll fall easily. But if there are too many, don't waste time trying to fight them one by one. Run or just shoot. Taking too long on one could get you bitten by another."

After watching my demonstration, the group paired up and practiced fighting infected.

We also kept up shooting drills in preparation for real situations.

The kids watched too, they'd need to know how to handle themselves when they grew up.

"By the way, calling them 'infected' all the time feels awkward. They're not really alive anymore."

Kenny didn't like the term "infected."

"Then what should we call them?"

"Hmm... I don't know..."

Lee suggested, "How about 'Walkers'? They keep moving even after death."

"Walkers... easy to say and the meaning comes across well. What does everyone else think?"

The others agreed.

In the Walking Dead universe, zombie fiction wasn't popular, so the word 'zombie' felt unfamiliar to people.

That was the creators' way of distinguishing the show and maximizing the fear of the unknown.

"Kenny, Lee. Come here for a sec."

"What is it?"

"Lee, you were a history professor, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then teach the kids basic knowledge. They'll need to survive in this world too."

Kenny and Lee both nodded.

"That's a good point. I was thinking about it too. They're school-age kids, but they're stuck here with us. It's not right."

"I agree. We can't just leave them like this... Lee, give Duck a lot of homework. Maybe it'll keep him out of trouble."

Lee chuckled.

Lee prepared materials to teach the kids, but Duck had no interest in studying and kept running around, until Kenny caught him and gave him a knuckle sandwich.

Watching the scene, the group started laughing, and soon everyone joined in.

It was a rare moment of relief in this bleak and oppressive situation.