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The escape was smooth. The zombies that had been shot fell down one by one as they chased us. Only the zombie that had been hit by the taser gun was still chasing us in perfect condition.

I gasped for breath and called out to Jeondohyeong, who was a little ahead of me.

“Jeondohyeong! Let’s deal with that guy before we go!”

“No, seriously!”

Jeondohyeong gritted his teeth. Then he turned around.

Anyway, my stamina was almost gone. If this continued, I would eventually be caught and attacked. It was better to deal with the zombie now.

The zombie, which had been farming, came running towards us.

We split left and right, raising our axes and hammers. The zombie hesitated for a moment, then charged towards me.

‘Why me?!’

Jeondohyeong was there too, so why me? What did I do wrong? I opened my eyes wide and glared at the shadowy figure. The hammer I had raised high trembled slightly.

There was only one chance.

If I didn’t hit its head accurately, I would die. Whether my neck was bitten or I got infected by the virus.

In an instant, a thought crossed my mind. My gaze turned towards the taser gun, which was making a dragging sound.

‘No, I shouldn’t fight. It’s too dangerous.’

The zombie spat out saliva and threw itself at me. I rolled to the side almost simultaneously. The cold ground seemed to hit my entire body, and my vision spun.

I screamed.

“Taser! Use the taser gun!”

The electrodes were still attached. If I pulled the trigger, electricity would flow.

I desperately rolled on the ground, threw the hammer away, and barely managed to regain my posture before spinning around.

The zombie chased after me, dragging the taser gun like a tail, and Jeondohyeong repeatedly bent and straightened his body, chasing the taser gun.

“Slow down! I can’t catch it!”

“If I slow down, I’ll get caught!”

It was nonsense to think that slowing down would prevent me from being bitten by the zombie.

We spun around in circles like that, and when Jeondohyeong dived to grab the taser gun, it was over.

Zzzzt-

The sound of electricity flowing was heard, and the zombie, stiff as a log, fell forward.

I gasped for breath and gestured roughly.

“Wrap the wire around its ankle.”

“Ugh.”

Jeondohyeong, with his trembling hand, pulled the trigger every five seconds and wrapped the long wire around the zombie’s ankle a few times.

Then, he raised the hand axe.

I stopped him.

“Don’t do it. Let’s not leave any traces. Just take the taser gun.”

“…”

Jeondohyeong seemed to turn his head slightly. Towards me. The axe also seemed to shift slightly. I immediately grabbed the hammer I had dropped.

Was it betrayal? Actually, I felt like I had brought us into this crisis, so a rebellion could happen at any time. Even pirates, one of my role models, had mutinies on their ships.

A strange silence flowed between the axe and the hammer.

Jeondohyeong sighed. The axe came down.

“I don’t owe you my life. You saved me from being killed by a zombie, and now you saved me from being killed by you, who put me in danger.”

“Right. Now we’re equal companions.”

I smiled and dusted off my dirt-covered clothes.

It’s a world where people die easily. As the weight of life has become infinitely lighter, the value of saving a life has also decreased. This is a fair exchange.

In fact, I’m quite satisfied with the way of thinking that has taken root in me.

‘If these things accumulate one by one, they will become the characteristics of the group. If we accept new members one by one, they can’t help but be influenced.’

As a pillager, and as a leader forming a group, I look at it from a long-term perspective.

“No…”

Jeondohyeong muttered as if he was dumbfounded, and by then, my stamina had recovered a bit. The zombie was about to recover, so I sent another electric shock, and it couldn’t move well because of the wire wrapped around its leg.

“Let’s go.”

We quickly moved away from the zombie and hid in the darkness, walking slowly. Of course, we left the used cartridges with the zombie and took the taser gun.

Jeondohyeong fiddled with the taser gun and said,

“The battery is at 33%, and there’s one unused cartridge attached to the handle. Even if we remove the cartridge, we can still use the stun gun.”

The unique noise of the stun gun and the streaks of lightning between the electrodes.

“That’s good.”

Seeing that blue light, I clenched my fist. A strong sense of accomplishment.

We survived that dangerous zombie, and even got a taser gun. A taser gun is no ordinary weapon. It’s a weapon with the power of lightning.

It was a human victory. Proof that we won against the zombie. The world is still worth living in.

We chatted and returned to the camping car.

“But won’t the police track us if we take this?”

“It’s unlikely. They’ll probably think the zombie dropped it somewhere. We left the handgun behind too. And the body cam was broken by the zombie earlier.”

Day 11 of the zombie outbreak.

We pillaged a taser gun. Firearms? They’re just noisy weapons that only attract zombie hordes. A taser gun with the power of lightning is better.

***

Day 15 of the zombie outbreak.

Signs of the world ending are appearing.

***

There’s a downside to a nomadic life. Time doesn’t pass easily. At most, I just watch videos on a phone I stole from a cafe.

A phone someone left on a cafe table and walked away from. Of course, I removed the USIM and connected to Jeondohyeong’s hotspot to watch videos.

– They are not zombies. They are patients.

– They are not Mari. They are Myung.

Some public service advertisement made by a human rights group.

I quickly swiped to the next video.

All sorts of news flowed by. News about strengthening drone regulations, or news demanding social distancing.

Some videos caught my eye.

– Prison occupancy rates skyrocketing…

First, a video exposing the reality of prisons where infected people are crammed. Or a video of isolation rooms made from modified containers.

– Military bases moving…

News about some military bases converting their barracks or temporary shelters into isolation rooms. Soldiers who originally lived in the barracks are being reassigned due to the reduced combat-ready personnel caused by infected soldiers.

– Over 80,000 symptomatic cases estimated…

– Over 1 million infected expected within a month…

Watching the news, I frowned at a strange sense of dissonance. Something felt off about the numbers.

Of course, virus diagnostic kits haven’t been released yet. Everything is estimates and guesses. Not all people who showed symptoms and turned into zombies have been caught. The virus spread during the nearly one-month incubation period, making epidemiological investigations impossible.

Still, it felt like the numbers were underreported.

From what I’ve seen wandering the city, it’s definitely not that level.

“This is strange…”

I tapped the table and fell into thought. The optimism that it’s similar to COVID-19 and not a big deal. But the government can’t be unaware of the danger.

‘They should declare a national emergency or a one-month lockdown.’

At most, social distancing, work-from-home recommendations, online class recommendations, public transportation restraint, and restraining outings are all they’ve done.

It’s clear that if left alone, everything will collapse, but the government is responding unusually moderately.

‘Even if zombies are people too… Even if people resist…’

It feels like they’ve judged that the I-virus can’t be stopped. It can’t be just optimism, right? Or is it due to political or economic issues? Waiting for diagnostic kits to be developed?

I can’t know what those in power are thinking or saying… It would be nice if everything just collapsed…

Then, I heard a gasp.

It was Jeondohyeong. He was staring at the chat window as if it were an unsolvable puzzle.

“Is this information reliable? Ah, if I make a mistake, I’ll be in debt.”

“…What are you doing?”

Jeondohyeong glanced at me.

“I’m looking at a stock information room. Someone seems to have leaked real information.”

I looked at him with a dumbfounded expression. The world is ending, and he’s talking about stocks?

Seeing my eyes, Jeondohyeong waved his hand. He, who dropped out of college after inheriting his parents’ estate, spoke as if annoyed.

“There are ways to make money even if the world ends.”

Is that so? I think I’ve heard of investment methods that make money when things go down. I also think that money is meaningless when you can just pillage.

I tilted my head but asked out of boredom.

“So what’s the information?”

“They say nuclear power plants will soon shut down. So they’ll implement rolling blackouts, and the price of raw materials for thermal power plants will rise.”

“Does that make sense?”

Rolling blackouts. To match excessive power demand with insufficient supply, electricity is cut off by region.

Society hasn’t reached an apocalyptic state yet, but rolling blackouts are excessive-

At that moment, a thought crossed my mind.

The world is ending. The apocalypse has come. But it’s not just the zombie apocalypse that can come alone. A nuclear apocalypse. If all nuclear power plants explode due to lack of management personnel.

I felt goosebumps on my skin. Zombies and viruses are manageable. But radiation is a real problem.

If radiation spreads, there’s no way to survive.

‘If the government, if experts think like me.’

If they are convinced that the world is ending, they might stop nuclear power plants at all costs.

Jeondohyeong spoke.

“I looked it up, and nuclear power plants generate about 25% of the electricity. Losing a quarter is suspicious.”

Stopping 25% of power production. My imagination became conviction.

The government has given up. It feels like they can’t stop it now, so they’re preparing for the future. My hands trembled with excitement.

I suddenly looked down at my phone. A list of videos showing the effects of the zombie outbreak.

Ships drifting at sea, trains derailing on land, and chain car accidents happening, planes crashing in the sky. Because the drivers turned into zombies.

I suddenly remembered the human rights group’s advertisement.

– They are not zombies. They are patients.

The statement that zombies are people too, doesn’t it mean that zombies can cause the same accidents that people can? Wasn’t it a chilling warning?

Because accidents caused by people are the most dangerous.

Tap-

Suddenly, my trembling finger slipped and pressed a video. A gloomy voice of an uncle with the nickname Professor Kim.

– Everyone, the end has come. You must each find a way to survive.

It’s not the usual doomsday theory. I quietly looked down at my phone. Jeondohyeong also seemed to be listening to this video.

– There are over 80,000 symptomatic cases. That’s just the number of infected people whose incubation period has ended. Including those still in the incubation period, it’s over 400,000.

Professor Kim displayed a graph. It was the statistics of confirmed cases during the COVID-19 period. A steep upward curve.

– In a month, it will be over 2.5 million, and in another month, 5 million. 10% of Korea’s population will become zombies. And after another month.

A large number appeared. 10 million. In three months, 20% of Korea’s population will become zombies.

Professor Kim seemed unable to continue, opening and closing his mouth before bowing his head deeply. A sound resembling a sob was heard.

The video ended there.

Silence fell inside the camping car. I clenched my fist.

‘Finally.’

Finally, people who understand the Chairman’s grand plan have appeared. Of course, the government will know, and smart people will catch on.

Apocalypse!

Then, Jeondohyeong spoke in a trembling voice.

“The diagnostic kit. It’s said to be completed soon. It won’t be that bad, right?”

“No!”

I spoke quickly with an excited voice.

“Imagine living alone. Or your entire family is infected. If you turn into a zombie at home, you’ll be trapped and starve to death.”

The diagnostic kit will accelerate the chaos.

“Confirmed infected people will all come out! It’s better to wander outside as a zombie than to starve to death trapped at home!”

The hope that a cure might come someday. The hope that even if you become a zombie, you might return someday. That hope will drive the confirmed infected outside. I would do the same.

I shook my body and quickly patted Jeondohyeong.

“Let’s move quickly! While the world is still livable, let’s gather resources!”

“We have enough weapons and food… It seems better to move to the outskirts.”

“No, not those kinds of resources.”

Jeondohyeong took out the car keys with an uneasy face, and I raised my fist.

“Human resources.”

Those who understand the Chairman’s big picture will gradually reveal their true nature. For example, Professor Kim from the video.

The disaster response expert professor was a fervent doomsayer, spreading doomsday theories to create anxiety in society.

And he did it professionally, using the authority of a professor, statistics to show logic, and tears to evoke emotion. This skilled psychological manipulator and doomsayer is qualified to join my pillager group.

‘Plus, as a disaster response expert, he must know the information needed for the apocalypse.’

Long-term and professional action guidelines that we lack. Or information we don’t know.

I quickly found Professor Kim’s email and contacted him.

 

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