Chapter 1

Hiding the Logistics Center in the Apocalypse - Chapter 1 (1/240)

Hiding the Logistics Center in the Apocalypse - Part 1

(The Nuclear Family's Apocalypse (1))

It was a spring day in 2023, just like any other.

A nuclear attack hit our family.

Boom!

It wasn't a real nuclear explosion.

It was just that the Kim family had scattered.

It all started with my eldest brother's marriage.

Then, the two older sisters, the Kim Sisters, declared their independence, and not to be outdone, my parents suddenly moved from the main house to Ilsan.

Finally, I, who had just returned from military service, ...

"Isn't this too much?"

I was left alone in an empty office building in front of the school.

The bustling family of two sons and two daughters had thus been centrifuged.

"I feel so lonely."

At that moment, I realized that I was too old-fashioned to accept the era of the nuclear family.

But at that time, it was still okay.

I didn't realize that I would have to face a completely new era.

***

Four months until my return to school.

I started a part-time job at a logistics center.

The main reason was to earn pocket money, but I also wanted to get a taste of human interaction.

The empty dorm room was just too hard to adapt to.

But even this place was adapting to the changing times.

"There are... no people..."

The era of human-delivered packages was over.

Now was the age of logistics innovation.

Whirr! Whirr!

In front of me, over a hundred shelves were moving on their own.

Their essence was the damned 'automation system.'

That's right.

The place I entered was not an ordinary logistics center.

Its name was PAX Fulfillment Center.

Short for PAX FC.

Unlike traditional logistics centers that receive and deliver packaged parcels, this PAX FC had all kinds of items already displayed.

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 fetch the item, and I just had to pack it into a prepared box.

- Kim! Here, catch!

- One, two!

I no longer heard such sounds.

The towering stacks of delivery boxes and the bulging muscles of the men were also gone.

The sweat-soaked men's logistics center had vanished into the annals of history.

Beep!

I scanned the barcode of a can of tuna brought by the AGV and grumbled to myself.

"There's no feeling, no feeling at all."

Ding!

"Of course, you would say that, you damn thing."

My only conversational partner was the AI, PAX, installed in the center.

From order processing to inventory calculation, even weight measurement for quality control.

There was nothing this thing didn't do.

It was supposedly a few generations more advanced than AlphaGo.

Of course, it wasn't perfect.

"Mr. Kim Jeong-gyun."

Someone called my name.

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

I replied.

"Ah, yes. Manager Shin."

"The inventory of tuna cans is showing as available in PAX, but it's actually out of stock. Can you go check the inventory input side?"

"Ah... Yes, yes. What should I do with what I'm doing now?"

"I'll hold it for you, so go ahead. Make sure to check if anything is missing from the inventory."

"Understood."

There was no further conversation.

We had a strictly business relationship.

Manager Shin silently took the barcode scanner, and I headed towards the warehouse.

The warehouse I eventually reached was shrouded in darkness.

I opened the prefabricated panel door.

"Let's see..."

In the warehouse, a few packaged water bottles and various boxes were scattered around.

After rummaging through a few, I soon found the problematic box of tuna cans.

"Ah, here it is."

Just as I was about to take the box and return,

Whirr!

A strong wind blew.

Then,

Boom!

The panel door slammed shut with the wind.

I put down the tuna cans and tried to open the door handle,

Click.

"Are you kidding me?"

It wouldn't budge.

Rrr...

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

I sat down in a corner, dazed.

The warehouse was enveloped in silence.

Perhaps because I had been in the middle of work, the stillness of the warehouse seemed quite new.

Should I call 119?

"Well, if I don't come out, Manager Shin will come looking for me."

It was an unintended accident.

The door wouldn't open, and Manager Shin wasn't answering his phone, so what could I do?

Thanks to this, I could take a leisurely 20-minute break before going back.

Under the fluorescent lights, the boxes were as stiff as stones.

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

<Kim Jeong-gyun: Photo>

<Kim Jeong-gyun: Trapped in the warehouse>

<Kim Jeong-gyun: Waiting for the manager>

A reply came quickly.

<Kim Sister 2: Hahaha>

<Kim Sister 2: So your part-time job is an escape room? >

It was a casual conversation, but then,

<Kim Sister 2: Hey, get out quickly>

<Kim Sister 2: I'm outside now>

The atmosphere suddenly changed.

Rrrrr-

A call came from my younger sister, but,

< ☎ Kim Sister 2 ☎ >

Click.

It was disconnected before I could answer.

Rrrr- Rrrr-

When I tried to call back, there was no signal.

"Wh-What's going on?"

At that moment,

Boom!

A loud noise echoed.

The ground trembled violently.

Thud!

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

The warehouse, bathed in red light,

Anxiety crept in.

"..."

Whirr! Whirr!

Rrrrrrr!

The siren alarm went off.

A sound I had only heard during safety training.

Perhaps due to the earlier explosion, it sounded particularly ominous.

The lights on the speakers on the wall also came on.

- All employees, evacuate to the loading area immediately! I repeat, all employees, evacuate to the loading area immediately!

I jumped to my feet,

"Damn."

Click!

The door handle I grabbed again was still immovable.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Someone's here!"

I pounded and kicked the door, but the panel door was unexpectedly sturdy.

No one opened the door, no matter how loudly I shouted.

"119... 119..."

I frantically dialed the number, but,

Rrr- Rrr-

It didn't connect.

The top of my phone displayed a signal loss.

"Is there a war or something?"

Just as I was stomping my feet in frustration,

Bang! Clang! Clank!

"..."

A heavy sound that couldn't be made by human hands.

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

'...It's not human.'

Sensing the danger, my body froze.

I tried to erase my presence, holding my breath,

Grrr...

A beast-like growl,

Thump... Thump...

The creature's footsteps gradually moved away from the door.

Thud.

As the tension eased, I collapsed to the ground.

"What do I do..."

There was no solution.

I could only stay still.

***

"..."

Three days passed.

In the dusty warehouse,

Water bottles rolling on the floor.

By the time I had opened eight cans of tuna to stave off hunger, a change occurred.

A blue window, something I had only seen in comics or novels, appeared before me.

Inside, it described the superpower I had obtained.

Level: 1

Content: You can store an object in front of you in a subspace.

Subspace.

I had read about it in a novel.

A virtual space where you can put and take out any object as you wish.

If I could put that damned panel door and the creature that growled and passed by occasionally into the subspace, wouldn't all problems be solved?

But it wasn't that simple.

Just one.

Not eleven, not two,

Just one object could be stored in the subspace.

Should I put the damned door in?

If I did, I would likely be torn apart by the creature that was coming soon, and if I put the creature in, I couldn't escape in the first place.

"Any other useful objects..."

I opened all the boxes in the warehouse, but the only things inside were tuna cans, water bottles, sneakers, a summer raincoat, and a USB drive.

Putting these in would be useless.

I shook a small box the size of my palm.

The USB drive inside rattled.

Then,

"...Wait."

I had an idea.

The subspace ability could only store one object.

But if I stored this box, the USB drive inside would also be stored.

Although there were other objects inside, the box itself was 'one' object.

Then...

"Could I put the entire logistics center into the subspace?"

This place, the PAX FC Center.

The five-story logistics center was conveniently in the shape of a box.

"There's plenty of room to try."

Ding!

I imagined the PAX Fulfillment Center as the message appeared.

Contrary to my fears...

The message was positive.

I immediately responded.

'Yes.'

"Ugh!"

I felt nauseous.

A wave of dizziness hit me, and my legs wobbled as my head spun.

As the painful sensation gradually faded,

"Wow..."

I was amazed.

From building A to building F, six logistics centers were lined up in the logistics complex.

Among them, the building used by the PAX Fulfillment Center was building C.

Turning my head, I saw building B on the left and building D on the right.

But where building C, the PAX FC, was supposed to be...

"...There's nothing?"

I was alone on an empty field.

The building had disappeared.

I had really put the logistics center into my subspace.

Ding!

I finally escaped outside.

However, the outside situation didn't look much better.

"What's going on..."

The delivery vehicles were all dented, and some were completely wrecked, rolling on the road.

Buildings B and D also showed clear signs of destruction.

Burn marks and shattered windows were everywhere.

Naturally, there was no one around.

It looked as if a disaster had swept through.

But it wasn't over.

Boom. Boom.

At the opposite end of the empty lot where the PAX Fulfillment Center had been,

Heavy footsteps shook the ground.

"Is that... an orc?"

A giant figure about two meters tall.

Rough, protruding teeth on either side.

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

It was definitely the creature that had been lurking in front of the door for the past three days.

"Damn!"

I had to survive.

I started running in the opposite direction.

The creature roared.

Kwaah!

My sudden action seemed to have provoked it.

It charged at me.

"Aaaaah!"

I ran like a madman.

Despite running at full speed, the orc behind me was getting closer.

"Please... please!"

Would running give me any hope?

I wasn't sure, but I kept moving my legs.

Kwaah!

Just as the orc's angry roar echoed nearby,

Ding!

A message appeared.

I frantically shouted 'Yes'...

A blue portal enveloped me.