Chapter 92
“Oh dear, what would we have done without us?”
“Exactly.”
Fortunately, there was no unfortunate incident over a vaccine.
That’s because Hanyang and Jay managed to safely get one vaccine without getting bit.
[They bought this]
[For real, someone needs to die for it to be fun]
[Meanwhile, look at them eating the vaccine beforehand]
[Rita is just eating it without a care beside them~]
[Honestly, it’s right for Mollru to eat it]
[But sneaking it really doesn’t seem like the ‘one-two-day’ way to do things]
It’s a pitch-black evening after the sun has set.
At this time, there was no option to give the vaccine to Rita and go looking for another one.
Especially since I happened to get bitten in the neck where the infection spreads quickly.
“Thank goodness, both of us are alive, Mollru.”
“Yeah.”
I deceived the unsuspecting and pure Rita.
But the world is inherently cruel.
In this apocalyptic world where a zombie crisis has erupted, the only one who can look after my life is myself.
You can’t trust anyone else.
Even if Rita obtained the vaccine and took it independently, I wouldn’t think that action was wrong.
We might have kicked her out of the party, though.
[Day 1 Survival Successfully Completed.]
[Entering Day 2.]
– Zombies’ movement speed increases.
– Zombies’ health increases.
– Hunger is felt quicker.
[Wow, the newb party got through day 1]
[Mollru is here]
[Even if we consider both of them, Hanyang and Jay really did well getting the vaccine]
[A talent-filled party]
It was certainly so.
While you could say I enjoyed survival games like this apocalypse from long ago, it was really unexpected that the others fought so hard.
It wouldn’t have been strange if everyone wiped out on the first day.
But there was no guarantee that the second day would go smoothly either.
The more time passed, the higher the difficulty would become.
“Damn it, hunger…”
As Day 2 began, zombies got stronger, and survivors received basic debuffs.
From physical debuffs like headaches that ate away health to mental confusion that had a chance to attack allies.
And if you didn’t eat in a timely manner, hunger would make you completely unable to act.
Unlike the two above, overcoming hunger depended purely on the cook’s ability.
In other words, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say our lives depended on Rita, the cook of this party.
“Messages keep popping up.”
“They’re saying to eat quickly because I’m hungry?”
“Debuffs, hunger…?”
I called out to Rita amidst the panicking members.
“Rita!”
“Yes?”
“From now on, your role is extremely important.”
“Yeah, got it!”
“You can do it, right?”
“Of course! Cooking is my specialty!”
But even though it’s a specialty in reality, doesn’t mean she can do it well.
The members figured out that her quick response to my commands garnered better reactions for the broadcast.
While she’s never been to the army, she still replied as if she were a soldier.
“Okay, from now on, I’ll tell you what you’ll do.”
“Yesss.”
“Rita, from now on…”
As everyone fell silent, I spoke in a particularly serious tone as if announcing something important.
“You just need to cook at home.”
“Huh?”
Rita’s silly question echoed through the quiet space.
*
“We’re back! Ah, I’m hungry.”
“You made it back.”
“Were you cooking well? I want something with broth today.”
“I’m craving dessert!”
“Uh, I want dessert too.”
“I can only make meal-type dishes because my cooking level is still low.”
“Hey, can’t you raise your level?”
Should I kill her?
Rita seriously thought that.
Just like a little child whining to their mom for food, Jay and Hanyang were demanding meals from Rita.
In a joint broadcast, there’s always someone who becomes the punchline.
And this time, that just happened to be Rita.
I knew they were doing it for the sake of the broadcast, but it honestly irritated me a bit.
“When’s the food ready!?
…They must be doing it on purpose, right?
Rita’s act of whining for food felt like she had already become a mom.
I thought it wasn’t just releasing built-up feelings.
Isn’t Rita good enough to be a leader?
They had just returned from an external exploration.
As we entered Day 2, Mollru gave Rita a simple command.
‘Raise life stats.’
Life stats that exist in this game.
Cooking, woodworking, foraging, etc., grow through repetitive actions, so it would be efficient for one person to specialize in them, she explained.
‘Rita will become a versatile helper in our shelter.’
It was only natural for Rita, who had been assigned as the cook since the start of the game, to take on cooking duties.
‘I wouldn’t have volunteered for cooking if I knew it would turn out like this!’
Rita, whose gaming physique fell short compared to the others, volunteered to handle cooking.
Not only did it seem much easier, but it suited her personality better since she preferred a relatively calm atmosphere.
The only chef in an apocalypse.
While others battled zombie hordes, she cooked for the tired ones, leading to a sort of healing.
Healing, my foot; Rita blamed her past self for thinking like that.
Trying to find healing in such a harsh world was her downfall.
“Mollru, look at this. I found something like this.”
“What is it?”
“Oh… that’s pretty good.”
In our temporary shelter.
She was cooking with a campfire out in the yard.
The other members had gone inside the building, busy chatting among themselves.
“How come no one who said they’d help is here…?”
Rita muttered sadly as she lit the fire.
Some viewers sympathized with her.
[That’s right]
[Normally, work should be shared.]
[This is too much]
[For efficiency, it’s right that Rita handles it alone]
[She’s working alone and hasn’t had a break]
[Poor thing…]
Of course, if we looked at efficiency, it made sense for Rita to handle cooking.
Nobody else could get even half of the added effects from her cooking.
But that was that; this was this.
Since everyone was resting, she was stuck working alone, almost like a servant.
“The food’s ready! Come out!”
“Let’s eat, let’s eat.”
“If you had been a bit later, I’d have lost health.”
Still, seeing them rush out as if waiting for her cooking did lift her spirits a bit.
Even now, wasn’t Rita’s carefully made soup just left abandoned like that?
…Left abandoned?
“Eww, Rita, what is this? I got a debuff!”
“You’re experiencing dulled taste from eating poorly made food?”
“No, it’s because that’s the best I could do. Honestly, dulled taste isn’t a serious debuff.”
She slaved away and they wouldn’t even eat properly.
“Even so, sausage radish soup is a bit…”
“I only had that ingredient to work with, so what do you want me to do?”
“Just grill the sausage and make the radish into soup.”
Easier said than done.
Grilling required cooking level 6 and additional kitchen equipment.
If they got a home-like shelter complete with a kitchen, maybe.
But cooking out in an open space like this with a campfire, even Gordon Ramsay wouldn’t be able to whip up anything better than what Rita was making.
“Exactly, why don’t you just level up your cooking skills?”
Crunch—
Then let me focus only on cooking!
You’ve got me doing woodworking and foraging too and then throw some nonsense at me.
“Everyone, we have to eat! Stack up hunger or you won’t be able to work tomorrow!”
“Ugh… it’s not tasty.”
“You have to eat to survive.”
At least with Mollru mediating, the meal continued.
But Rita couldn’t help feeling annoyed at Mollru too.
For not even praising her cooking and for overloading her with work.
“Rita, what’s your skill level now?”
“Cooking is 5, woodworking and foraging are 3.”
“If your woodworking is at 3… can you make a table tomorrow? Eating on the ground is a bit rough.”
“Huh?”
Even now, Rita was busy, hardly able to catch a breath.
She woke up earlier than everyone else to prepare breakfast, and when they went out, she’d gather branches and all sorts of necessary supplies.
Then before she’d know it, it was time for lunch, and she’d have to prepare that again.
After preparing lunch, she went back to gathering before fixing chairs and fences with the branches she’d gathered, raising her woodworking level.
Soon it felt like it was evening again… and here we were.
“A table would definitely help. My wrists hurt from constantly holding my food.”
“That’s right. I might get wrist tunnel syndrome.”
“Be careful with your wrists. If you injure them, you won’t be able to hold a gun.”
Haha!
The others laughed as if they had heard a funny story.
Then Hanyang suddenly stood up.
“Wait, if I step on the campfire, will I get burned? Really?”
“Hanyang, what are you doing?”
“No, the viewers are telling me to walk into the fire!”
The pot of soup had been removed from the fire, leaving the flames out in the open.
It was as if Hanyang was tightrope walking as she moved closer to the fire.
“Whoa! I really got burned! It’s eating away at my health!”
“Well, is there any other way it wouldn’t?! Are you dumb?”
“Why would you walk into a fire?”
Hanyang’s reckless behavior didn’t stop there.
“If I kick while on fire, would it be stronger?”
“Don’t say some ridiculous stuff, just put it out!”
“Diablo Jump!”
Watching Hanyang frantically kick the air with her flaming legs, Rita could only laugh.