---

The fly, being the first human to flee the townhouse, quickly responded.

“It’s something I can definitely do. Just spare my life, and I’ll do whatever you say. It’s just about tricking the Rider, right?”

“Are you serious?”

I stared at the fly without blinking. The fly’s pupils rolled cunningly. It was obvious at a glance that there wasn’t an ounce of sincerity in its words.

‘Survivors will do anything to stay alive.’

That was why I thought I could persuade the survivors in the townhouse, but it was also the reason why the survivors might deceive me.

There was a chance they might pretend to follow my orders, only to betray me the moment they made contact with the Alliance.

I chuckled and swung the hammer. The same hammer that had shattered one of the fly’s knees. The fly’s pupils trembled.

“Sorry, but what you need to do is a bit different. To be precise, you’ll be helping to prepare to deceive the Alliance.”

“So just tell me what to do.”

“Then tell me. Your companions, the humans who fled the townhouse. Where are they?”

To properly deceive the Alliance, I needed to capture more flies, hence the order to betray. The fly gulped. The trembling in its pupils intensified.

A faint voice was heard.

“I… I don’t know. No, put the hammer down. Listen, I really don’t know. We were chased out by you guys. We just wandered around day by day, finding food and shelter.”

“Haha.”

Nonsense. Being chased out meant the fly’s living area was inevitably limited.

No matter how much the Alliance supplied resources, they couldn’t provide all the water these people needed. The flies had to at least choose locations where water was easily accessible, and there were only so many such places nearby.

Moreover, decent living spaces were likely already taken by survivors or zombies in the area, further limiting their options.

I crouched in front of the survivor and placed the hammer on the fly’s intact knee.

“Even with one leg broken, you could still manage to survive somehow. But if you’re no use to me, why should I keep you alive?”

The trembling of the body through the hammer. When I shone the flashlight on the fly’s face, I saw sweat dripping down its haggard face.

“But I really don’t know. We couldn’t find a place to live. We were just wandering around, thinking of reclaiming the townhouse from you guys.”

Is it sincere? Really? Then there’s not much information to gain from this guy?

Should I just kill him? As I tightened my grip on the hammer, Sajihyeok spoke up confidently from behind.

“Where did you get water? There must be a place you usually go to for water, right?”

“Ah, water. There’s a river a bit far away. It’s been dry, but it’s still usable.”

I pressed the hammer down on the fly’s knee.

“Tell me when and where. The time you go to the river for water and the location of the river.”

“In the evening! I’ll tell you the location if you give me a map!”

That should be enough information to set up an ambush. I slowly got up and went over to Sajihyeok, unfolding a notebook.

The writing had smudged from being wet with rainwater before. But I could vaguely make out the words written by the paranoid uncle. What to investigate when looking into people, how much to suspect.

“Alright. Then I’ll ask a few more questions.”

And so, Sajihyeok and I took turns asking various questions, and the fly answered earnestly.

The resources provided by the Rider, the number and details of the townhouse survivors, the tasks assigned by the Alliance, the general situation of survivors nearby, the conversations with Alliance members, the rewards they promised, and so on.

After finishing the interrogation, Sajihyeok looked down at the fly with a dark expression and sighed.

“The Alliance is really trying to keep us in check. Giving a gun to a survivor with a grudge and provoking them.”

“It’s a tactic with nothing to lose.”

The Alliance’s thoughts were similar to my expectations.

They offered the survivors who lost the townhouse a chance to reclaim their home and provided them with weapons and food to endure, slowly draining our resources.

If we couldn’t withstand the provocation and wasted bullets, it would benefit the Alliance. Moreover, it would deplete our ability to scavenge or pillage for food.

The fly, looking tired, stared at its broken knee and suddenly seemed to remember something.

“Oh, right. The Rider said something strange.”

“What did he say?”

“He asked if I knew about zombie habitats. When I asked why, he said they were testing a method to lure zombies with drones.”

I blinked. Luring zombies with drones? Preparing for a zombie wave? I couldn’t help but laugh.

“That’s ruthless.”

Typical of the Alliance. They don’t care about the means.

I’ve felt it before, but they’re truly insane people. Doctors using poison, corrupt police officers, and an electrical expert trying to use drones as zombie-luring weapons with butane gas, a precious fuel.

It’s like flipping a coin—how can they use their abilities, once meant for people and society, to kill people instead?

Sajihyeok pondered for a moment and spoke rationally.

“Zombie-luring drones… It seems they’re really planning to use them. They must have just made something and are testing it.”

That makes sense. Zombies learn, don’t they? If they tested it on zombies in the Alliance’s survivor zone and they learned, it wouldn’t work, so they’re probably planning to test it on us.

I nodded at the fly.

“That’s helpful information. Is there any food you’d like to eat? I’ll give you a special meal.”

“Food is fine. Can you just untie this rope around my neck? I can’t even sleep properly because of it.”

The fly pointed at its neck with its bound hands. A noose. A psychological restraint more than anything, as moving too far would strangle it.

I shook my head.

“That’s not possible. The information you provided hasn’t been verified yet. The river you mentioned could be a trap set by the Alliance.”

I can’t naively trust this. The paranoid uncle suspected and suspected until he figured out my true nature. There’s no harm in being suspicious.

The fly weakly dropped its arms and made another request.

“Then alcohol. I think I could forget the pain in my leg if I could drink some alcohol.”

“Alcohol is out of the question. It’s a precious resource.”

Alcohol and cigarettes are resources almost like currency. I can’t give them as a special meal. The fly looked at me in disbelief, and I turned away.

“Then let’s meet again.”

***

The Alliance members aren’t fools. If a fly we captured showed up, they’d immediately sense something was off.

That’s why we had to deal with the fly all at once. Without missing anyone, kill those who need to be killed and capture those who need to be captured. Then use them to deceive the Alliance members.

After warning about the zombie wave, I went to the river with my criminal companions. The mode of transportation was, of course, bicycles.

As we carefully rode through the chaotic roads, Jeondohyeong, who was leading, spoke up.

“There’s a reason there aren’t many survivors around here. The river is farther than I thought. Without a bicycle, you’d have to walk for hours just to get water.”

“But there’s a mountain.”

The survivors here chose the mountain over the river.

Maybe they didn’t have the strength to claim the river, or perhaps they chose the mountain for other resources since water could be drawn from the river. Or maybe they thought there were few competitors around, making it good for scavenging.

“There’s surprisingly a lot to eat on the mountain. If you know where to look.”

As we rode, Park Yang-gun shared stories of his childhood in the countryside, and Sajihyeok fell over by himself.

“Ah! I fell! No, stop! Why are you leaving me behind!”

“…This is one of the better roads. How did you even fall? We weren’t going that fast.”

We stopped for a moment to scold Sajihyeok. This road was actually quite clean. Even with obstacles, we were going slowly, so there was nothing to trip over.

“I think I’m hurt. It hurts.”

Sajihyeok, who had fallen on a pile of trash, whined as he picked up his fallen bicycle.

I looked Sajihyeok up and down.

“Did you get stabbed by a nail or something?”

No matter how slowly we rode or how tough our clothes were, a bad fall could still cause serious injury. If you got stabbed by a rusty nail, it’s game over. You might as well leave your last words.

“Ah. Did I get stabbed?”

“Why are you asking me that…”

“Please check. It doesn’t hurt that much, though.”

In the end, we circled around Sajihyeok, and Jeondohyeong, looking disgusted, went back to his bicycle.

“Stop whining. You’re not even hurt.”

“Hey. Maybe it’s better to just go back? You don’t seem like you’ll be much help.”

When Park Yang-gun spoke bluntly, Sajihyeok shook the rifle slung over his shoulder.

“I can’t be left out. Didn’t you see me hit that headshot last time?”

I waved my hand dismissively, siding with Sajihyeok. Not because I actually believed in his shooting skills.

“Let’s just go together. If you go back alone and fall and die, there won’t be anyone to clean up.”

And so, we pedaled slower than before and arrived at the river the fly had mentioned. A dry, overgrown river. There was a path, likely used frequently by survivors or zombies in the area.

“They said they’d come before sunset, so they should be here in a few hours. Let’s spread out and ambush them.”

“What do we do when they come? We need to capture them, right?”

“There are about four of them still alive, so just point the rifles and threaten them.”

 

---