Creak, thud.

Curtis and James panted, coughing a few times before slumping onto the floor.

A wooden crate containing a heavy machine gun and ammunition rested on the ground.

While Curtis wiped the sweat from his face, James threw a blanket over the crate.

"And you said not to trust him too much."

It was his son who spoke first.

"Pipe bombs, armor-piercing rounds and now you’ve brought back a machine gun. All with a man you supposedly don’t trust."

"You enjoy mocking an old man?"

"No, it’s just surprising. You were rough with everyone except Mom and Sarah."

Curtis let out a long sigh, then smiled.

For a wrinkled old man, it was a good-looking smile.

"It’s been a while since I had… fun."

Holding tools, asking questions, coming up with ideas.

Making prototypes, refining them.

Testing the results, confirming they worked.

Curtis’s worn-out mind slowly replayed each step.

"And I even found an old friend."

"Feels like just yesterday we had her mounted on the Humvee, firing until our ears went numb."

"Maybe we’ll build a bunker next. Hell, we might even put together a vehicle."

"And where are you driving this thing?"

"It’s a bunker. If we search, there are probably some big underground spaces. Maybe even hidden missiles."

"So, you want to drive a machine-gun-mounted vehicle from a missile bunker, fantastic."

"I should take Sarah for a scenic drive."

Laughter echoed between them.

The tension was completely gone from their faces.

"So, what’s Hyunwoo up to?"

"Talking about bathrooms and electricity. He wants to make this place livable."

"...He’s serious?"

"Sounds a lot easier than making bullets."

They nodded.

No more doubts.

Only curiosity about how much better things could get.

"Might be the jackpot."

"I’m the one who found that yellow monkey, kid."

"Monkey, my ass. You might as well worship him. Adopt him while you’re at it."

"Not a bad idea. He’d be better than my failure of a son."

"Dad."

Curtis wiped the last of his sweat and stood up, still grinning.

"Now, let’s bring our boy Hyunwoo a nice snack. He’s earning his hot shower."

"Already calling him ‘our boy’?"

"It’s been a while since I found someone worth teaching. Let me play dad a little, you got a problem?"

"Just get going."

The metal door opened and shut.

James rubbed his sore muscles, lost in thought.

Someone to teach.

Playing dad.

James remembered when Curtis used to play with him as a child.

Digging trenches, standing guard, aiming sticks at squirrels and making shooting noises to chase them off…

"Man, you could at least say things nicely for once."

A small smile tugged at James’s lips as he stood up.

"So, you can really make a shower work?"

"Hand— flashlight, flashlight!"

"Oh, right. Here?"

"A little higher… Yeah."

The 5,000-liter water tank filled the room.

Sarah and I sat on top of it, inspecting the inside.

No visible contamination and the Geiger counter the Omens had brought showed no radiation.

I poured a bit of water onto a litmus strip.

It turned blue.

Hmm.

"The water’s clean. The lid was sealed, so there shouldn’t be any issues."

"Boil it once and it’s good to go? Five thousand liters, full to the brim!"

"I’m setting it up so you won’t have to boil it every time."

"You’ve gone from making bullets to plumbing. What was your job before this?"

I couldn’t exactly say I was just a part-timer who spent his free time gaming and browsing forums.

So…

"I dabbled in a bit of everything to make money."

…The number one rule of résumé inflation.

Vague but not untrue.

I’d done everything from office assistant work to convenience store shifts.

"Impressive."

At the end of the day, if you got results, people were satisfied.

Even if they doubted you, numbers spoke for themselves.

And now—

"We’ll connect pipes to route water to a bathroom and toilet, find the old plumbing here and hook it up…"

"Sounds like a huge project."

In the game, it wasn’t that hard.

You just placed blueprints, gathered materials and slapped together metal sheets and scrap with a crafting kit.

Other people had to find working toilets or build an entire shelter just to do their business, but…

Crafters basically had reality-warping skills when it came to construction.

Same with guns and ammo.

Though, my basic survival skills were terrible.

I was still relying on others to cook for me.

"I’ll set up a boiler, too and we’ll need electricity… whew, this is getting big. Oh, and fuel. A filtration system…"

"You’re not writing a fantasy novel, are you?"

Instead of answering, I just smiled.

This was only the beginning for a Crafter.

"Close the lid, I’ll figure out what materials we need."

"…Hey, just checking, you didn’t hit your head or anything, right?"

"I made multiple types of bullets and now you ask that?"

"If clean water was easy to find, we wouldn’t have gone months without a proper shower."

Wait.

"Months?"

"Yeah, drinking water is too precious. We just wipe down with wet towels, or if we’re lucky, use a wet wipe or two. Why?"

"…"

"It’s an apocalypse, is this weird?"

"…"

"I didn’t want it to be like this either."

"…"

"Say something!"

So that’s why.

That faint vinegar smell.

Oh, God.

I’d been so focused on crafting that I overlooked this.

Hygiene was a much bigger issue than I realized.

I’d thought the smell was just part of the bunker’s atmosphere.

"I’ll get that filter and boiler done ASAP."

I handed Sarah a notebook with the materials I needed and left the boiler room.

And then Curtis greeted me with a bright smile with James following in tow.

No— with greasy, matted hair and a shiny forehead.

Oh, dear God.

"Brought some crackers and jerky. Figured you’d be hungry."

"Sarah, have some too."

That beard was… stiff. It had settled into a shape.

Oh, come on.

"Sarah."

"...Ugh."

I was just asking her to bring the notebook.

But she sniffed the air—

"Oh, so you’re saying you’ve been wearing gunpowder like cologne."

Scowling, she shoved the notebook at James and stormed off.

She started shutting the door—

"Don’t come in!"

With a shout, she disappeared.

James raised an eyebrow before slowly opening my notebook.

"Water filter, boiler, plumbing… Hmm?"

"I’m working on a long-term fix for clean water and showers. Keeping wounds clean helps prevent infection."

"Ah…"

"Why? Did Sarah smell bad or something?"

"No, just… It’s an unavoidable problem, right? We couldn’t settle anywhere and drinking water was already hard to secure."

They nodded, but there was a hint of amusement in their eyes.

"Telling a lady she smells…"

"Kid’s hopeless at romance."

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing, focusing on work is good. So you’re making a shower… with a boiler?"

"Hot water is better for hygiene and it’s good to sterilize drinking water."

They were all giving me the same wide-eyed look.

It wasn’t impossible, I swear.

"Well, first we should find a proper bathroom. If there’s a shower, we can salvage parts."

"That’s a good idea. Might be heavy to move, though."

"Still, making it from scratch would be… I don’t know."

"The water filter will be easy, we’ve got plenty of gas masks."

"Yeah, you can find four in a single run through the residential areas. We even kept extra filters."

While we were planning, the door suddenly swung open.

Sarah, slightly disheveled, strode up to me and dramatically flipped her hair.

"Pffft! Hair— in my mouth!?"

I coughed and shook my head as she spoke.

"Smell me! It’s fine now, right?!"

I sniffed lightly.

It did smell… floral.

"Perfume."

"And I was told to use it sparingly."

Curtis and James chuckled while Sarah scowled.

"You better make that shower work."

"Alright, alright. I’ll stop teasing."

Fewer hygiene debuffs meant better morale and fewer issues overall.

I needed to get this done quickly— if only to keep her from staying mad at me.