Hiding A Logistics Center In The Apocalypse Chapter 1

Hiding a Logistics Center in the Apocalypse – Part 1

(Apocalypse of the Nuclear Family (1))

The spring of 2023, just like any other year.

A nuclear attack hit our family.

Boom!

It's not like a real nuclear bomb exploded.

It's just that our Kim family has been scattered.

The beginning was my eldest brother's marriage.

Following this, the two older sisters, the Kim Sisters, also declared independence, and so, not to be outdone, their parents suddenly moved their home to Uijeongbu.

Finally, I, who just got back from military service…

“···Isn’t that really too much?”

I was dropped off alone in front of the school, in an empty officetel.

The bustling, happy family of two sons and two daughters was thus torn apart.

“···I’m lonely.”

I felt it then.

I was too old-fashioned to accept the nuclear family era.

But it was okay back then.

Little did I know that we would be entering a completely new era.

***

There are four months left until returning to school.

I started working part-time as a courier at a logistics center.

The main reason was to earn some pocket money, but I also wanted to get a feel for the people.

I just couldn't get used to the empty studio apartment.

But even this place was adapting to the changing times.

“There are no people···”

The days of human-carrying parcels are over.

Now is the era of logistics innovation.

Wheein- Wheein-

Before my eyes, more than a hundred shelves were moving on their own.

Its true identity is the fu*king 'automation system'.

Yes, that's right.

The place I entered was not an ordinary logistics center.

The name of this place is PAX Fulfillment Center.

For short, it was called Pax FC.

Unlike conventional logistics centers that receive and deliver packaged parcels, Pax FC had all kinds of items already on display.

From simple groceries to children's toys, office supplies, and even building materials.

When an order came in, an AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) robot would automatically bring the items, and all I had to do was put them in the prepared boxes and pack them.

-Mr. Kim! Come on, take it!

-One, two!

I can't hear this anymore.

The same goes for the stacks of boxes, the flexing of veiny muscles.

The logistics center of sweaty men has disappeared into the back alleys of history.

Boom- Boom-

I grumbled to myself as I scanned the barcode on the tuna can the AGV had brought in.

“No affection, no affection.”

Tiring!

[Unregistered product]

“Of course you would, you little punk.”

My only conversation partner was the AI mounted on the center, PAX.

From order receipt to inventory calculation and even inspection through weight measurement.

There was nothing this guy wasn't involved in.

They say it's an AI that's several generations more advanced than AlphaGo or something.

Of course, it wasn't perfect.

“Mr. Kim Jeong-gyeom.”

Someone called me.

Like a mirage in the desert, a man walked from afar.

I answered.

“Oh, yes, Manager Shin.”

“We’re out of canned tuna, but Pax keeps telling me they have some left. Could you please go check with the stocking staff?”

“Ah… yes yes. What should I do with what I was doing just now?”

“I’ll hold on to it for now, so go ahead and come back. Please check carefully to see if anything is missing from the inventory that was entered.”

"All right."

There was no further conversation.

Because we had a strictly business relationship.

Manager Shin silently grabbed the barcode scanner, and I walked toward the warehouse.

The warehouse we finally arrived at was shrouded in dark shadows.

I opened the prefabricated panel door.

“Where should I look···”

The warehouse was strewn with several packaged water jugs and boxes containing various items.

After digging through a few things, it wasn't long before I found the box of tuna in question.

“Laugh.”

Just as I was about to return with the box,

Wheeeeee-!

A strong wind blew.

And then,

Boom!

The panel door slammed shut with the wind.

I put down the can of tuna and grabbed the door handle,

Crunch.

"crazy?"

It didn't open.

Toururur···

I took out my smartphone and tried calling Manager Shin, but he didn't answer either.

I sat down in the corner in a daze.

A warehouse shrouded in silence.

Perhaps because I had just come back from a busy day of work, the sight of the still warehouse felt quite new to me.

Should I report it to 119?

“Hey, if you don’t come, Manager Shin will come looking for you.”

It was an unintentional accident.

The door won't open and Manager Shin won't answer the phone, so what can I do?

Thanks to this, I can go in and rest leisurely for 20 minutes.

Under the fluorescent lights, the boxes, hard as stone, looked eerie.

I took out my smartphone and sent a message to my older sister in Seoul.

<Kim Jeong-gyeom: Photo>

<Kim Jeong-gyeom: Trapped in a Warehouse>

<Kim Jeong-gyeom: Waiting for the manager>

A reply came back right away.

<Kim Sister 2: Hahahahahahahaha>

<Kim Sister 2: Was working part-time a room escape?>

It was a small conversation, but

<Kim Sister 2: Hey, you, come out quickly>

<Kim Sister 2: Outside Now>

<Kim Jeong-gyeom: Why?>

Suddenly, the atmosphere changed.

Thurrrrrr-

I got a call from my little sister,

< ☎ Kim Sister 2 ☎ >

Stop.

It was disconnected before I could receive it.

Toot- toot-

I walked again but there was no signal.

"···what?"

at that time,

Kwaaaaang!

I heard a loud noise.

It was to the point where the ground was shaking.

widely!

The fluorescent lights illuminating the warehouse went out, and red infrared emergency lights came on.

Inside a warehouse bathed in red lights.

A feeling of anxiety came over me.

“···?”

Wheein! Wheein!

Ring ring ring ring ring!

The siren alarm sounded.

It's something I've never heard before except during safety training.

Perhaps because of the previous explosion, the sound sounded particularly ominous.

Lights also came on from the speakers mounted on the wall.

-All employees, evacuate to the unloading area immediately! I'll say it again. All employees, evacuate to the unloading area immediately…!

I jumped up, but

"shit."

Crunch!

The doorknob I grabbed again was still unmoving.

Boom, bang, bang!

“There are people here!”

I knocked and kicked, but it was nothing, and the panel door was sturdier than I had imagined.

No matter how loudly I shouted, no one opened the door, as if they had already finished evacuating.

“119··· 119···”

I called urgently.

Doo- doo-

It didn't work.

There is only a sign floating at the top of the phone indicating that the phone is out of range.

“Is there a war or something···”

At that moment, I was stamping my feet like that.

Finally there was a message from the door.

BAM! THUNK! THUNK!

“······?”

A heavy sound that could not possibly be attributed to a human hand tapping.

As if to prove the impact, the panel door was dented inward.

'···Not a human.'

When I sensed danger, my body froze.

Let's barely erase our presence, holding our breath.

Krrrr···

With a beastly growl,

Thump… thump…

The sound of his footsteps gradually moved away from the door.

dump.

As soon as the tension was released, I collapsed and sat down.

“What should I do···”

There was no way.

There is nothing you can do but stay still.

***

“······”

Three days passed like that.

Inside a dusty warehouse.

Water jugs rolling around on the floor.

When I couldn't stand my hunger and opened eight cans of tuna, the fishy smell started to waft out.

One change has come.

[You are chosen]

[Check your awakened abilities]

A blue window, like something I'd seen in a comic book or novel, appeared before me.

Inside was written a description of the superpowers I had acquired.

[My own subspace]

Level: 1

Content: You can contain objects you see in front of you into subspace.

Subspace.

I've seen it in novels.

A virtual space where you can put in and remove any object you want.

Wouldn't everything be solved if we just put that damn panel door in the subspace and that monster that occasionally passes by and makes a grumbling sound?

But it wasn't such an easy problem.

[Number of saves: 1]

Just one.

Not eleven, not two,

Only one object could be contained in the subspace.

Should I just put that damn door in?

If I did that, I would feel like my throat would be ripped off by the monster that was about to approach, and if I tried to contain the monster, escape would be impossible in the first place.

“Any other useful items···”

I opened every box in the warehouse, but all I found were cans of tuna, bottled water, sneakers, a summer raincoat, and a USB stick.

Even if I put something like this in, it would be of no use.

He shook a box the size of his palm.

The USB memory stick inside rattled.

Meanwhile,

"···for a moment."

I came to one thought.

There is only one object that can be contained by subspace ability.

But if I were to put this box in, the USB memory stick inside would also be included.

Because even though there are other things inside, the box itself is 'one'.

then···

“Wouldn’t it be possible to put an entire logistics warehouse here?”

Right here, at the Pax FC Center.

This logistics center, built five stories above ground, coincidentally had a box-like hexahedron shape.

“There is plenty of room for experimentation.”

Tiring!

[Please enter the target to save]

I imagined this Pax Fulfillment Center as a rising message.

Unlike Gi-woo···

[The target has been specified. Do you want to save it?]

The message was positive.

I sent a reply right away.

'yes.'

[Start saving]

“Ugh!”

I felt sick.

I felt dizzy and my head was spinning, and my legs were wobbly.

So, when the painful sensation gradually disappeared.

"and······"

I was impressed.

In this logistics complex, there are six logistics centers located side by side, from Building A to Building F.

Among them, the building used by Pax Fulfillment Center is Building C.

As I turned my head around, I saw Building B on the left and Building D on the right.

But in the C building where Pax FC was located…

“···There’s nothing?”

I was just lying there all alone on the plain.

The building is gone.

I literally put a logistics center in my subspace.

Tiring!

[Saving completed.]

[An operating system suitable for system operation was found in the saved target.]

[Update your operating system.]

[Update progress 6%···]

I finally got out.

But the outside situation didn't look so good either.

“What’s the status···?”

The delivery vehicles were all dented in some way, and some were even completely destroyed, rolling around in the middle of the road.

Traces of destruction were also evident in buildings B and D.

There were broken windows here and there, with soot marks.

As expected, there were no people.

As if a catastrophe had swept through.

But it wasn't.

Because the disaster was ongoing.

Thud. Thud.

At the opposite end of the vacant lot where the Pax Fulfillment Center had disappeared.

Heavy footsteps shook the earth.

“That’s… an orc?”

A huge body of about 2 meters.

Teeth that jut out roughly to the sides.

The green giant, which I had only seen in fantasy movies, was for some reason approaching me.

It was clear that the guy had been loitering around the door for the past three days.

"shit!"

Have to live.

I started running in the opposite direction quickly.

The guy howled.

Kwaaaaah!

My impulsive behavior seemed to have irritated the guy.

The guy immediately started charging towards me.

“Eww!”

I ran like crazy.

Even though I was clearly running at full speed, the orc behind me was only getting closer.

“Please… please!”

Even if I run away, is there any hope?

I wasn't sure, but I just took the step.

Kwaak!

That's when the orc's angry howl could be heard nearby.

Tiring!

[Update completed.]

[The system has been restored and you can enter subspace.]

A message came to mind.

[Would you like to enter?]

I screamed 'yes' like crazy···

A blue portal surrounded me.