Ubermensch – Chapter 173

Chapter 173

Summer was over. It was autumn.

Albert Nelson wore a bitter expression as he looked at the empty record store.

‘Has it already been 3 years since I last listened to music?’

It wasn’t that he disliked music. On the contrary, Robert loved music. From elegant genres like jazz and classical to experimental genres like EDM. He even used to listen to KPOP group songs sometimes.

However, he no longer listened to music.

No. Maybe the expression ‘couldn’t listen’ would be more accurate.

If there was one reliable companion for Albert as he walked alone through the forest of buildings, it was his hearing.

This almost paranoid principle had kept him alive for three years.

Of course, this wasn’t the only principle Albert adhered to. Don’t get involved with anything unknown, whatever it may be. Only eat food that is certain to be safe. A bow is better than a gun, and running away is better than a bow…

Just as Moses had the Ten Commandments received from God, Albert strictly observed his survivalist precepts like a monk.

Because he had clearly witnessed what happened to those who didn’t.

And among those precepts was also the rule not to rest in a place where safety couldn’t be guaranteed.

So he had to move.

Whoosh…

At that moment, a wind swept across the city, shaking the plants covering the abandoned buildings.

Albert reflexively looked in the direction the wind was blowing.

The wind was a courier that carried scents. It delivered the scent of ‘them’ to Albert, but it also delivered Albert’s scent to them.

That meant he had to be wary of the direction the wind was blowing.

Albert lowered himself and looked around while hiding behind cover. However, aside from the rustling of leaves, there was no other sound.

He waited a little longer, but there was no other sign.

That was a relief.

Albert headed towards his destination for the day.

The place he was heading to was an old department store. Now it was used as Albert’s warehouse.

Everything in the fresh food section in the basement had rotted away long ago, so he only went down there occasionally to find compost materials. Of course, he had already taken out long-lasting canned food and other foodstuffs, so there was not much reason to go down there anymore.

Albert’s destination was the rooftop. He had set up a field on the rooftop of the department store, and he had come to manage the crops and harvest what was ready.

At that moment.

Albert stopped as he was climbing the stairs.

‘The thread is cut.’

The black thread he had tied to the stair landing was cut. It was already hard to find even for Albert, who had installed it, in the dark stairwell.

‘Something went up.’

Was it them? Or wild animals?

Albert hoped it was them.

Wild animals were… troublesome.

Albert nocked an arrow to his bow and slowly moved, silencing his steps.

There was a sound coming from the rooftop. The sound of someone greedily eating something.

‘Damn it.’

It was a wild animal. Troublesome indeed.

Albert wished it was at least a herbivore.

However, there were whimpering sounds mixed with the munching sounds. It was a canine.

It must have been one that escaped from the zoo, or an abandoned dog.

Albert carefully climbed the stairs.

He peeked through the gap of the open door, and sure enough, it was a dog. Judging by its size, it looked like a German Shepherd.

And it was looking back.

‘Should I aim for the butt?’

No. That was a bad choice.

No animal instantly died from getting shot in the butt.

And all wounded animals screamed and rampaged. Noise. And frenzy. Both situations he wanted to avoid.

Thud!

Albert deliberately made a noise with his foot.

The dog flinched and turned around, and at that moment, the arrow Albert shot pierced the dog’s forehead.

It was a competition bow used by archers. It might not be enough for large animals like bears or cows, but for a German Shepherd, it could pierce the skull and penetrate the brain.

“…”

Albert stared at the dead dog for a moment and swallowed unconsciously.

Fresh meat. How sweet would its juices be?

If he could just grill it nicely, today’s unpleasant encounter would turn into a memorable feast.

But Albert gritted his teeth and changed his mind.

‘Don’t eat it.’

It wasn’t because he was a dog lover.

Of course, in the good old days, he was a dog lover who hated people who ate dog meat, but that wasn’t why he wasn’t eating it.

‘Don’t eat food that isn’t safe.’

He might consider it if it were a herbivore, but he couldn’t be sure if it was safe to eat a carnivorous animal. It was possible that it had eaten the flesh of ‘them’, and if it had eaten their flesh, it was possible that it was infected.

He might have considered it if he had carefully observed the dog’s behavior and confirmed its safety, but Albert couldn’t be sure that this dog was safe.

Then he shouldn’t eat it.

Being careful not to get blood on himself, he covered the dog’s head with a plastic bag. This was to mask the smell of blood and dispose of it far away from the department store.

Albert looked around the field and gathered the crops that were in season.

It might not be as good as dog meat steak, but vegetable stew wasn’t bad either.

…Though it might not be as good as dog meat steak.

Albert packed the vegetables into his backpack. And he picked up the dog’s carcass.

As he went down the stairs and headed towards the river, Albert’s mouth watered. Appetite. To be precise, it was hard to resist the craving for meat.

‘Maybe it’s okay to eat it?’

To be honest, vegetable stew was the worst.

Even including emergency supplies, he couldn’t even dream of food better than dog meat steak.

‘The body needs protein. Wouldn’t it be safe to eat only the flesh, not the brain or internal organs?’

He started to convince himself.

‘No. Even if it was infected, wouldn’t it be okay if I cooked it thoroughly?’

Albert’s appetite bombarded his reason with countless questions. However, reason had only one counterargument.

‘Are you sure it’s safe?’

It wasn’t.

Then he couldn’t eat it.

He’d have to eat the damn vegetable stew.

Albert approached the river and put down the dog’s carcass.

As he put down the dog’s carcass, he also put down his lingering attachment to dog meat steak.

Someone. Or something would eat it.

It was at the moment when Albert turned his head away.

“Ugh…”

He heard a crushed groan. Along with a mangled breathing sound that could be heard as”kuk kuk”or”teolkkeok teolkkeok”.

It was the sound Albert was most familiar with and wanted to avoid the most.

‘Damn it.’

It was them.

Zombies. Ghouls. Infected. Well, something else.

The culprits who had turned this world into a third-rate horror movie or a third-rate survival movie.

Albert slowly backed away.

One of the things he was sure about them was that they were contagious. He didn’t know if it was a virus, spores, blood infection, or airborne infection, but Albert had no desire to find out.

Not being discovered was the best, running away was the second best. Fighting was the third best, and getting infected was the worst.

Albert backed away, sweating coldly.

‘Eat the dog meat.’

Albert carefully shifted his position so that the dog’s carcass was visible between the zombie and himself. So that the zombie would find the dog’s carcass before it found him.

So that its appetite wouldn’t be directed at him.

‘There’s free dog meat. Eat the damn dog meat.’

Albert prayed earnestly, sweating coldly.

The zombie staggered and slowly walked over…

Thud!

It knelt in front of the dog’s carcass.

And it started to devour the dog meat with a crunching sound.

‘Whew.’

Albert was relieved. But he didn’t even sigh in relief, and slowly backed away.

The zombie was no longer visible. He had also passed the distance where it could smell him.

It was a distance where he could be sure that he had separated himself from it even by his most cautious standards.

“…Whew.”

Albert let out a light, very light sigh of relief. So light that no one could hear it even if they were right next to him. That was the loudest noise Albert allowed himself to make.

‘Let’s go back.’

The sun was setting.

Don’t move in the dark. It was one of Albert’s rules.

Albert moved, maintaining his vigilance.

His hideout was in one of the apartments.

The main entrance was completely blocked, and it was a place accessible only by a ladder hidden nearby.

Albert climbed the ladder and pulled it up. And he climbed the stairs, keeping his body low and hidden.

It was a room with no light at all, as all the windows were blocked with plywood.

Only after opening the door with a key and thoroughly locking it did Albert breathe a sigh of relief.

“Whew.”

A place where neither zombies nor any surviving humans could easily find or reach.

It was the best hideout he could prepare.

Of course, this wasn’t his only hideout.

Albert put the water with water purification tablets on the portable stove.

It was time to eat the damn vegetable stew.

‘I want to listen to music.’

However, there was no reason to shut down his most reliable warning device himself. He sat with a gloomy expression, staring at the flame of the portable stove, his only source of light.

The bookshelf was filled with books he had picked up from bookstores and libraries. Books on useful basic knowledge such as survival guides, gardening, and medical care.

And among them was also a survival guide written by Albert himself.

It was a book with a good reputation among survivalists.

Though he didn’t know he would be surviving in the city, not in a well-prepared bunker or the wilderness.

‘I should have studied in that direction too.’

No matter how much he learned, it wasn’t enough. In this shitty world, survival required a lot of knowledge.

He looked at the only book that had nothing to do with survival: a religious scripture.

‘I was stupid.’

Albert looked at the stove with a gloomy expression.

‘To believe that a god would take care of people.’

The pre-portioned solid fuel was almost gone. It was time to eat the vegetable stew, cooked or not.

Vegetable stew made in a situation where all ingredients, including fuel, were scarce, not to mention his lack of cooking talent.

It was close to culinary torture.

‘Should I open a can of spam…’

It was the moment when Albert was seriously contemplating.

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the door.

Albert reflexively grabbed his bow, and then thought.

‘What is it?’

Did something fly and hit it?

The wind wasn’t that strong.

‘It’s not a zombie.’

If it were a zombie, the knocking wouldn’t be this rhythmic.

‘Is it a person?’

It was definitely a person.

The problem was, what kind of person?

Did someone lie in wait and then knock on the door?

No. If someone was lying in wait, there would be no reason to knock after the door was closed. They would have attacked before that.

‘It doesn’t matter who it is.’

He wouldn’t open the door. If they broke in, he would shoot them dead.

In this world, there was nothing more dangerous than people.

‘My God. Protect me.’

Albert, who unconsciously prayed, had a bitter expression.

At that moment.

“Did you ask for help, my desperate child?”

Someone was already inside the door.

Albert reflexively shot his bow.

Thud!

The arrow struck.

An arrow that accurately hit the throat.

However, the man with an arrow stuck in his throat had an awkward expression.

“You have good archery skills.”

Albert felt his spine freeze.

He opened his mouth and spoke for the first time in a long time, to be precise, for the first time in three years.

“You… Who are you?”

It was a hoarse and shaky voice.

The man, looking at the Oztalon scripture on the bookshelf, said,

“Don’t you recognize me?”

“No.”

“Then realize it now.”

The man threw off his camouflage.

“Your god has come. The protector has come.”

Then, a giant in tremendous armor, wielding a giant hammer, emitted a holy radiance.

“This Oztalon, has come hearing your desperate plea.”

“Ah…”

Albert shed tears.

There were many things he wanted to say. So many.

He wanted to express his gratitude, and he also wanted to complain about why he had come so late.

But what Albert, finally saved, wanted most intensely was something he hadn’t even anticipated.

“Three minutes… Please give me three minutes and fifty seconds.”

“As you wish.”

Mason nodded and asked,

“But what are you going to do?”

“I want to listen. My God. I… I really want to listen.”

Albert picked up the headphones with trembling hands.

“The song I wanted to hear the most.”

The song he had longed for even in his dreams was beginning to play in the headphones.

The Beatles’ song was playing.

The words he wanted to hear the most during these three years. The words he had repeated to himself the most often were playing.

Albert shed tears.