The Only Woman in a Zombie Apocalypse Vol. 1 Chapter 33 - Humans are scarier than zombies (1)

Dayoung also had all sorts of thoughts.

 

I’ve watched a lot of zombie movies, haven’t I? Think about it, Kim Dayoung! A steel gate would be really good. 

 

Or at least a shutter. A shutter?

 

“Didn’t this mall have shutters on its doors?”

“It did, but they were super loud. Even if zombies came, the noise from hitting them would be insane.”

“Then what about reinforcing them with something quieter or harder metal?”

“We thought about that too, but getting metal is hard. And no matter how sturdy, it’s not like a wall—if zombies charge at it, it’ll still make a lot of noise.”

“Then what if we attach egg cartons or sponges on top?”

“Oh, sponges might work. We should try that.”

 

Yeowoon responded to Dayoung’s suggestion, though he wasn’t sure how many sponges they’d need for the shutters.

“But will we have enough?”

“If we look around, there should be plenty. They sell magic sponges, and some dish scrubbers are made of sponge too. Let’s check convenience stores, supermarkets, and DaiXo.”

 

Dayoung pictured the magic sponges she often used. They were thicker than expected, so they might do the trick.

“Ah, and if we head north, there’s a place that sells iron pipes or metal sheets.”

“You know a place like that?”

“Yeah. It just came to me. Let’s go together tomorrow.”

 

At Dayoung’s mention of going outside, the group’s eyes turned to her.

“If me going out is a problem… I can just draw a map.”

“Then make us a map tomorrow. Noona going out isn’t a good idea. Especially after what happened today.”

 

Ian patted Dayoung’s head reassuringly. 

 

They had survived this long, so they knew how to handle danger—but Dayoung had lost her memory. 

 

They didn’t know how she’d survived before, whether the men had protected her or if she’d made it on her own. That’s why they couldn’t easily let her go out now.

“Alright.”

 

As Dayoung’s expression darkened, Dohun stood up from his seat and asked, “Noona Dayoung, should we all sleep together today?”

“Is that okay?”

“Of course. We’re all feeling restless anyway.”

“Alright. Then, let’s stay at the temporary shelter again tonight. As for here, let’s have two people from the scouting team take turns keeping watch. I’m uneasy since there’s no door. It’s 11 now, so let’s rotate every two hours. But before standing guard, you can sleep next to Noona Dayoung.”

“Ooh~ Nice!”

“Okay, rock-paper-scissors!!!”

 

Watching the group excitedly playing rock-paper-scissors among themselves, Dayoung let out a hollow laugh. 

 

Why don’t they ask me? 

 

Of course, she would’ve nodded if they had. The order was decided by rock-paper-scissors, and the first pair on watch would get to claim the spot next to Dayoung from 4 AM until morning. 

 

Of course, that was only if they could wake up at 4, but they were thrilled nonetheless.

 

“Wow, the cooking and management teams don’t even get a chance.”

“You guys need to sleep well. The cooking team has to prepare our important meals, and the management team is busy collecting sponges for tomorrow’s tasks.”

 

At Ian’s words, all the scouts nodded. But the cooking and management teams felt a little unfairly treated. 

 

Seeing their expressions, Dayoung finally burst out laughing.

“You guys can… pfft… sleep next to me later. Okay?”

“If Dayoung says so, then fine. What can we do?”

 

Only the first two on watch remained, while the rest moved to the temporary shelter. 

 

Dayoung handed the flashlight and blanket she was carrying to Jiwoo and Minshik, who were on guard, and followed the others. 

 

Inside the shelter, the group began laying out blankets. 

 

Dayoung’s bedding had the thickest blanket spread on the floor and the softest thin blanket laid on top.

 

The group lay down, but each had so much on their minds that it took quite a while before they gradually fell asleep. Dayoung, too, decided to take today’s events as a lesson and resolved to pay more attention to what lay ahead. In a world where zombies had appeared, Dayoung and the others thus ended their day.

 

Early the next morning, the group was already busy. 

 

Thanks to the map Dayoung had drawn, the scouting team left right after breakfast to retrieve metal pipes and iron materials, while the management team had to gather sponges and pile them up in the center of the first floor. 

 

After finishing their meal, Dayoung and the cooking team cleaned up and joined the management team, moving around the entire mall to collect anything resembling a sponge.

 

They managed to gather a considerable amount, but it was nowhere near enough to cover the massive front and back gates, as well as the smaller side doors. 

 

It seemed they’d have to come up with a plan once Ian returned.

 

“There’s way less than I thought.”

“Right. We’ll have to talk it over when the scouting team gets back.”

 

The scouting team, whom they had been waiting for, didn’t return until after lunch—and they came back empty-handed. 

 

Dayoung looked at Ian in confusion, and he scratched his head as he spoke, “We went exactly where the map said, but no matter how much we searched, there was no such place.”

“No such place…?”

 

Ian’s words left Dayoung stunned. 

 

It was clearly a location described in the book—the very place Ian’s group would discover three months later, which was why she had told them in advance. 

 

Hearing that it didn’t exist left her at a loss. Dayoung recalled the original story.

 

〈Ian’s group had set up barricades within an hour’s walking distance in all directions. 

 

Some places had yellow barricades, while others used cars parked in the lot to nearly encircle the mall. 

 

They employed various methods to create small alleys the group could move through.〉

 

The scouting team moved north today. 

 

They had set up barricades to an hour’s distance away and, as of yesterday, had finished checking all nearby buildings. The group decided to advance while building more barricades. 

 

After walking for about 30 more minutes, one of them entered a fast-food restaurant, encountered a zombie, and fled through the back door, only to spot a large building to the right. 

 

The structure, painted a bright orange, stood out immediately. 

 

Though not tall, it was spacious.

 

Ian chose the building as today’s target. Hoping its size meant plenty of supplies to take, they entered. It looked like a large hardware store or a construction company. 

 

Tools and materials of all kinds caught Ian’s eye. 

 

There were many items they could use to reinforce the mall, so they kept returning for a week. 

 

Afterward, the mall’s security was doubly strengthened, becoming an even sturdier fortress that zombies couldn’t breach.

 

Now, barricades stretched up to 30 minutes away. 

 

They were advancing faster than planned, setting them up quickly. They had risked danger to go there, only to come back empty-handed. 

 

Dayoung found the situation utterly baffling.

 

Was it like in the novel, where they had to wait three months before going? Had the group missed it because they went today? But that didn’t make sense. 

 

The building should already exist—how could it be invisible now but glaringly obvious three months later? 

 

A building couldn’t just appear out of nowhere.

 

Dayoung felt something was off. If things had to follow the original story exactly, five people should have died last night. That was the necessary cliché to change Ian’s personality as a key character. 

 

Yet all five were still here, laughing and chatting beside her.

 

But even after the three men were driven out, they ended up being attacked by zombies. 

 

In the original work, the three men left the door open at night, allowing zombies to flood the first floor of the shopping mall. Though the zombies had stepped inside the mall, thanks to Dayoung, they only made it as far as the hallway in front of the door.

 

Dayoung felt frustrated. It seemed like things were following the original plot, yet they weren’t. 

 

So, what would happen to her? 

 

In the original, she was nothing more than an unnamed extra who died off-screen. But here, she was with them and had slept with them before the other female characters did.

 

If that was the case, then her presence here meant the story wasn’t progressing as originally written. 

 

And if something were to happen to her, perhaps the plot could return to its original course. The thought unsettled her a little, and she resolved to be more careful from now on. 

 

Well, she was already here—what else could she do? 

 

She’d just have to survive and see. Dayoung decided to go check out that place. 

 

If the building wasn’t visible to her, even though she knew it should be there, then this world would unfold as the author intended. But if her eyes—already an irregularity—could see it, that would be a whole different problem.

 

“Hey. Come with me. I think the map is confusing. We’ll know exactly where it is if we see it in person.”

 

“Noona, are you sure you’re okay? You just saw zombies up close yesterday.”

 

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

 

“Alright, let’s leave now. If we go at this time, we can make it back before evening.”

 

At Dayoung’s words, the group brought out protective gear and began arming her. 

 

Seeing the noticeably upgraded equipment compared to last time, Dayoung asked, “Where did this come from?”

 

“Where else? We made it. Last time, we just used whatever was lying around as a temporary fix, so it was bulky and uncomfortable.”

 

“We figured you’d want to go out again, noona. So we prepared this in advance. Ready whenever you need it.”

 

The protective gear, made of soft leather to wrap around her arms and legs, fit Dayoung’s size perfectly.