Hiding A Logistics Center In The Apocalypse - Chapter 94
Chapter 94: Non-possession (1)
TL/ED – Miso
The unwelcome guests who had entered Europe had all been driven out.
Moreover, the dead Knights of Camelot had returned and even stamped their seals on the re-contract documents.
On any other day, it might have been different, but at least for today, there was no way dinner could be skipped.
As expected, on a day like this…
“…It’s a company dinner.”
A company dinner for the newly restructured Camelot department.
I intended to present a grand feast to the knights who could neither eat nor drink until now.
“I’ve been waiting for this day.”
There had been many non-human races who became members of PAX FC.
Elves, druids, and even dwarves.
To be honest, every time I brought one in, the first thing I did was feed them, but it was also true that I had always felt a bit of regret.
The elves of Elvenheim, strict vegetarians, stuck to vegetable bibimbap.
The druids, living like hippies, would hole up and chew on World Tree leaves instead of meals. The dwarves had seemed to adapt at least a little, but recently they had started mixing beer with rice.
A horrific sight I could hardly bear to witness.
So to me, the revival of the knights was like rain in a drought.
‘Finally caught them… those blue-eyed omnivorous foreigners…!’
The foreign mukbang with a long and rich history.
I was determined to feed the Knights of Camelot all the K-Food that PAX FC possessed, without holding back.
Of course, there were also Awakened like Glen or Lydia from the United States or Europe.
But still…
‘I need to feed my boys first. It’s not like I didn’t supply food to them either…’
I was the kind of person whose arms didn’t just bend inward, they were stuck flat to my back.
Following me into subspace were Lancelot and the knights.
Like a department manager on the night of a company dinner packed with youthful energy, I asked them,
“Is there anything you want to eat? Maybe something you thought about often while being undead…”
Lancelot, rubbing his empty stomach, gave a slightly awkward smile.
He had lived for decades without knowing the sensation of hunger.
Now, a body that cried out in hunger must feel nothing but unfamiliar.
“Come to think of it, I am hungry. In Avalon, the knights’ meals were fixed. It was a hard ration made by compressing grains…”
Turned out, they had lived just as poorly as the elves.
And thinking that they had even become skeletons on top of that made my chest ache.
Fortunately, Lancelot recalled one menu item.
“I once had the grilled meat of a beast called Porku. Of course, there wouldn’t be any Porku on Earth, but…”
“Grilled meat, huh…”
A white-fleshed animal resembling a pig.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t a food ingredient found on Earth, but…
“Let’s go, for now.”
I didn’t feel particularly disappointed.
They had spent their whole lives eating rations.
I had no intention of belittling the memory of meat eaten on the battlefield, but…
‘…Still, wouldn’t Korean beef taste better?’
I planned to start by serving them K-meat first.
.
.
.
With the knights in tow, we arrived at the employee cafeteria inside the subspace logistics center.
Lancelot set down a large Styrofoam box.
“Let’s see…”
Ding!
[Premium Korean Beef, Lower Sirloin, Striploin, Ribeye 1++ Grade, for Grilling (Refrigerated). Price: 457,200 won.]
Beef brought in by the kilogram.
The sirloin held up by the tongs had clear marbling rippling across it.
A hot grill, greased with fat.
On top of it, I placed the large meat seasoned lightly with salt and pepper…
Ssssss…!
The sizzling sound of oil boiling whetted the appetite to the fullest.
Rotating it on all sides to lock in the juices.
The exterior turned a vivid brown as if slightly seared, but…
“…This is it.”
After a brief wait,
Inside, split like the Red Sea, was moist, rosy meat juice waiting for us.
After cutting it into bite-sized chunks,
I placed the cube-shaped grilled meat onto the knights’ plates.
However…
“I apologize, my lord… I don’t know what’s what…”
The knights only fidgeted in hesitation.
Ever since they entered the subspace, they had merely sat and watched their families eat.
As the saying goes, those who’ve tasted meat know how to eat it well, and they just stared at the meat like sacks of barley set aside in a corner.
“Lancelot.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“You said you wanted to grow stronger, didn’t you?”
“…Yes, that is correct.”
I waved the steaming meat before their eyes.
Then I began preaching to them the strange logic I had acquired during my time in the South Korean military.
“Remember this well. Eating is also a form of training.”
“…!”
Having finally escaped the curse and become human again.
It was no coincidence that they had awakened their aura along with regaining their living bodies.
According to Lancelot, aura came from a body that had been forged with strong inner resilience.
In that sense, nutritional intake for strength and stamina was not something to be taken lightly.
Though Lancelot had lived on rations all his life…
“Eating is training…”
He seemed to understand what I meant.
As if ready now, he nodded.
“Grab the meat. Then place some fresh wasabi on top, and dip it into the Himalayan pink salt over there.”
“I understand. Wasabi on top and then…”
Lancelot repeated my instructions aloud and followed them,
Snap!
The knights also picked up their chopsticks in perfect sync.
Thus began the emergency food training.
As with anything, the beginning wasn’t easy.
Hands twisted, meat slipped, and chopsticks dropped to the floor one after another.
But the knights persevered and finally managed to bring the perfectly grilled meat to their mouths.
“…Success!”
Lancelot’s blue eyes sparkled as he chewed through the juicy meat.
But the training had only just begun.
“We’re not done yet. Everyone, pick up a lettuce leaf.”
Each of them took a large lettuce leaf and perilla leaf into their big hands.
They topped it with tangy spring onion salad and thinly sliced peppers, added a nicely grilled garlic slice, and finished it off with ssamjang.
Munch munch.
Munch munch.
Twelve cheeks lined up in a row.
The knights were all showing excellent chewing technique.
“That’s it. Now, next…”
The training continued.
As befitted an infinite logistics center, there was no end to the teaching materials.
Ding!
Ding!
Messages of outgoing supplies for the teaching aids popped up nonstop.
[Winter Dongchimi Cold Noodles for 4, 1692g, 4 sets, price: 32,280 won.]
[Hamheung Spicy Cold Noodles for 2, 1306g, 3 sets, price: 20,940 won.]
[Barbecue Restaurant Doenjang Stew, 535g, price: 5,900 won.]
I gave lessons on the difference between cold broth noodles and spicy cold noodles, how to enhance flavor with mustard and vinegar, and how to wash down greasy meat with hot soybean paste stew and white rice.
[Automatic Snowflake Shaved Ice Machine, KC-2311WS, price: 64,510 won.]
[Seoul Milk, Grade 1A, 2300mL, price: 3,820 won.]
[Sugar-level Selected Watermelon, 5kg, price: 21,900 won.]
We cooled down the heat of the intense training with snowflake shaved ice topped with fruit cups and refreshing watermelon.
“Huff… huff…”
The knights panted heavily.
All of them had taken off the steel armor that once constrained their bodies, now rubbing their bloated bellies.
Though they had reached their limits…
“…!”
Thump, thump.
Appearing with a leisurely bent back was none other than my grandfather, Kim Jeong-gyeom.
With the arrival of the second training instructor, a new wave of tension filled the cafeteria.
“You all were so skinny… Now you look presentable at last.”
Looking at the knights’ puffed-up cheeks, my grandfather grinned in satisfaction.
He gave them a new challenge.
“Lan, now how about some booze?”
“…!”
My grandfather, who had treated the skeleton knights without prejudice.
The reality that they couldn’t drink together must have hit the knights hard as well.
With a choked-up voice, Lancelot responded.
“Yes, grandfather. We can drink now.”
Grandfather wedged himself between the knights and asked for makgeolli.
When I asked if it would be okay, Lancelot nodded.
Gurgle gurgle gurgle…
He poured the cold, chilled night makgeolli into a yellow kettle and filled the aluminum cups nearly to the brim.
Since it was an extension of their training, I instructed them in Korean-style drinking etiquette, and the knights, after toasting with grandfather, all tilted their heads back in unison.
Gulp.
Gulp.
A freezing waterfall poured into their dry mouths.
The makgeolli that passed their lips slid down their throats.
Just as the tangy carbonation began to tickle their tongues…
Bang!
Thud!
Heavy thumps rang out across the table.
“…….”
All twelve knights bowed their heads onto the table, swearing their loyalty to me.
Together with grandfather, I had no choice but to exchange looks of exasperation.
“They can’t handle alcohol after all…”
***
“My lord…”
The next morning,
Lancelot and the knights returned to the logistics center, clutching their throbbing heads.
Their puffed-up faces and wildly tangled hair like bird nests added a human touch to their appearance.
“Are you awake?”
“It seems our training is still insufficient. To faint halfway through… I am ashamed.”
“No, that’s not really about training…”
There were likely many reasons.
Since they had only just reclaimed their bodies, they might not be fully conditioned yet. Or perhaps unknowingly, fatigue had built up from the final battle against the warlock Gatz.
Thinking of the long years they had spent silently shrouded in death, the sight of the knights collapsing from drink felt strangely endearing instead.
“Come to think of it, I have news to share with you all.”
“News, my lord?”
I immediately led the knights to the western side of the logistics center.
Past Emes’s materials warehouse, James’s workshop, and Brock’s forge…
“This is…”
We arrived at the European Branch of the Chamber of Commerce, now located beside the Japan Branch.
A soft blue glow, along with the obsessive tick-tick sound like a clock, filled the air.
As befitting a headquarters, it was several times larger than the Japan Branch.
The original owner was dead.
The European branch manager, who had been staring blankly at Gatz’s corpse.
Just like with Henry, the Japan branch chief, his head had also burst open without mercy.
Ding!
[The update has been completed.]
Whatever the backstory, the European Branch was now in my hands.
Using the newly acquired facility, I immediately pushed through a new update for PAX.
At the same time, PAX checked the activity logs of the European Branch and was able to deliver one very important piece of information to me.
[There is a transmission record to Barnaul.]
[The transmitted data concerns the World Tree and druids located on Earth.]
[Reception has been confirmed on the other dimension’s side as well.]
The World Tree and druids.
Information that their trigger button was on Earth.
Judging by the time the message was sent, it had already been delivered well before Gatz made his request.
And predicting the result wasn’t difficult.
“Barnaul will come to Earth.”
However, the exact timing remained unknown.
Because powerful restrictions imposed by the Chamber of Commerce were still blocking their entry.
PAX informed me that Barnaul must also follow the procedures of the Chamber of Commerce, and that even if their entry were approved, I would be the first to receive that news.
“I see. Then the news you mentioned…”
It was news of an enemy invasion that was now virtually certain.
Lancelot also nodded gravely in understanding, but…
“Ah, that’s not the real news.”
There was something else I wanted to tell him.
The newly acquired European Branch of the Chamber of Commerce.
As it was a higher-level institution, it came equipped with new functions that hadn’t existed in the Japan Branch.
“There’s now a dimensional integration function.”
A feature the Chamber of Commerce had used to sow discord between dimensions or to cultivate new invaders.
The authority that had pulled Elvenheim, Lycion Mine, the Great Forest, and the dwarves’ factory to Earth was now mine.
The benefits I had received from it were enormous.
Take Elvenheim, for example, it had become a natural fortress, not only halting the advance of the warlocks but also accommodating tens of thousands of prisoners.
“Just like you said, the Chamber of Commerce won’t open the path for me. I’m not an invader. But if that’s the case…”
“My lord, are you saying…?”
“Then why not pull Avalon itself to Earth instead?”
That was the reason.
The reason I had decided to choose the Chamber of Commerce’s gift with my own hands this time, instead of receiving a random box like before.
Once again, it was related to Barnaul.
Avalon, now covered in undead, was being used as their item factory.
“This time, let’s be the ones to yank their nose hairs first.”
That was the real news I had shared with the knights.
****
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Mr. Fool
Bringing the battlefield to their suitable place and choosing which opponent it would be 🤣🤣🤣