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I came out onto the street, dragging a combat cart behind me, humming a nursery rhyme.

“Hammer goes thud thud, machine gun goes bang bang, getting food with a handgun…”

“What kind of song is that?”

Glancing at Sajihyeok beside me, he was blinking in disbelief, adjusting his glasses, looking like a scammer caught off guard.

“Don’t you know nursery rhymes? The sun is shining, the sand is sparkling.”

“Your taste is really something. Last time it was the scarecrow, and now kids’ songs? Why…”

“Where are the kids or innocence in this world nowadays? We’re all just survivors.”

Sajihyeok sighed deeply and pointed to a pack of wild dogs in the distance on Villa Street.

“So, what’s the goal? Expanding the business? Are you really going to recruit those people and operate outside the river area?”

I smirked. There are plenty of goals.

“Wouldn’t it be fun to watch them kill each other after causing internal division? …Just kidding. I’m not that short-sighted.”

Sajihyeok looked at me with suspicion, as if questioning if I was even human. It’s frustrating being a scammer who lures people to their death using dreams and hope.

I slowed my pace and lowered my voice.

“Internal division is the best way to defeat them without wasting bullets. Plus, it could be an opportunity for business expansion.”

“Profitability has dropped, though. Why not just take protection money?”

Protection money… Seeing me ponder, Sajihyeok rambled on.

Already focused on his main job, his voice sounded as if he was trying to scam me.

“Passive income is the best, isn’t it? Just collecting resources without doing anything. Barely any need to shoot. It’s like moving from hunting to agriculture.”

It sounded plausible, but I instinctively opposed it. His scammer-like tone made me suspicious.

“No. Even if the profitability is good, we can’t think like the Immortal organization.”

I laid out my logic step by step.

“We’re pillagers. Protection? That kind of warmth doesn’t suit our image.”

What kind of pillager offers protection? No need for such weak actions. Kill, take, and leave only corpses behind.

“And if we can’t protect them, what happens? When famine hits, they’ll kill each other for food. Look at them. They’re even coming at us.”

Failure is inevitable. If we look weak and incompetent, the idea of protection money will be a pipe dream.

“Taking tips and killing is the business that suits us best.”

“If that’s Dain’s opinion.”

By then, we were close enough to the pack of wild dogs to hear each other clearly.

A survivor from our raids stood up, eyes burning with revenge, and spoke coldly.

“Didn’t expect to meet like this, huh?”

I silently locked eyes with the avenger.

This is why I’m almost paranoid about confirming kills. If they survive, they come back as relentless avengers.

Just this time, one got away, and now they’ve gathered hungry dogs to raid my Villa Street.

“Yeah, didn’t expect it. If you’re lucky enough to survive, you should lay low.”

“Haha. I did lay low, and you still got me. So now I’ll live loud.”

The avenger’s sharp malice was clear. This one wasn’t here for pillaging. I was the target.

A dangerous enemy. Someone with nothing to lose but their life, using it like a bullet. I made them that way.

I suddenly laughed, chuckling at the karma that had come back to me.

“Light. Not even threatening.”

“No. It’s fatal.”

The avenger spoke briefly. The meaning was simple: you’re already caught in our trap.

Negotiating would waste food. Not negotiating would waste bullets and cause chaos. Either way, terrible losses pile up.

‘If I make the wrong call here, I’ll be dragged along forever.’

But not all of them are here for revenge. I nudged Sajihyeok.

“I’ll leave it entirely to you.”

“Haha. Don’t worry. Who do you think I am?”

Our speaker. A master of propaganda and manipulation. The scammer confidently stepped forward.

‘Sajihyeok is good at this.’

I couldn’t expect him to turn their goals into an alliance, but he could certainly cause division.

“Everyone, you’re hungry, right?”

Sajihyeok, cloaked in confidence, leisurely looked around. His presence drew everyone’s attention.

The people, hiding from my machine gun, unknowingly focused on him.

“I understand your struggles. Digging through ruins all day and barely finding enough food for a day, needing firewood and water.”

“Enough nonsense. What are you going to do about it?”

The avenger slammed a nearby car, cutting him off. An enemy doesn’t let you speak.

“Give us food, or fight.”

“Tsk tsk. You’re a bad leader. Someone this dumb shouldn’t be leading.”

Sajihyeok smiled and reached out, his hand sweeping over the pack of wild dogs.

“If we pillage once, will you keep getting food? No, would we even let you pillage us?”

“Better than sitting around starving to death. That’s why we’re here.”

The survivors’ eyes showed pure hunger and will to survive.

Sajihyeok nodded in agreement but said something else.

“There’s an old saying: don’t give them fish, teach them to fish. I’ll teach you how to fish. A way to get food consistently.”

“What? Join your group? That won’t work. In this world, taking 10%, 20%, where would that even go?”

The avenger scoffed.

Having already experienced internal division, he refuted each point like he’d prepared for it.

“Besides, you killed the informant too. My friend, the betrayer, informed on us. What happened to him?”

The skilled scammer, Sajihyeok, wasn’t fazed. Without blinking, he continued smoothly.

“That was outside business hours. Now it’s business hours. In fact, it’s an expansion event period. We’re even running a Chuseok event.”

Sajihyeok took a deep breath, gesturing like a conductor toward the rooftop.

“It’s the holidays, so we’re offering meals to new members. Kill a competitor, and we’ll count it as performance. Incentives increase with each kill.”

The avenger smirked, looking around at the pack.

“Do you believe this? Think carefully. Threatening and fighting gets us more.”

He argued that our willingness to talk was a sign of fear. Better to stick to the plan than fall for nonsense.

The argument continued, but the mood gradually shifted toward Sajihyeok. The avenger was skilled, but he couldn’t match a real scammer.

“…”

“…”

The survivors’ eyes gleamed with malice, glancing at each other. The distance between them, once hiding in formation, grew.

I rubbed my growling stomach and spoke in a bored tone.

“The food’s getting cold. Let’s hurry up.”

They’re here for food, with no sense of camaraderie. Why they’re so hesitant is beyond me.

‘They’re survivors from the same zone. Neighbors who’d kill each other anyway. I’ve set the stage.’

The avenger, mid-argument with Sajihyeok, suddenly stopped.

“Ha… You’re swayed by this?”

“You should be. Your friend didn’t even get an offer before joining. And, you seem to be misunderstanding something.”

I pulled out a handgun and clicked it.

“Whether you threaten or fight, you won’t get food. Know why?”

I smirked and fired six shots at the avenger. Sadly, only one hit his thigh.

“I’d rather burn it than give it to you.”

That statement was the trigger.

Violence erupted everywhere. Shiny blades glinting in the autumn sun, blood fountains spraying, and the dull thuds of metal pipes swinging like percussion.

The avenger grimaced and turned to flee, limping and shouting.

“These idiots won’t cut it. See you next time!”

“No, there won’t be a next time.”

If I let one go and got karma, that’s it. No second chances. This time, I’ll make sure.

“Mr. Sajihyeok! Guard the combat cart!”

I swapped my gun for a hammer and charged. The enemy, shot in the thigh, seemed to zoom in as I closed the distance, bringing the hammer down on his skull.

*Thud!*

After a few more hits to the back of his head, I looked around.

The infighting had blurred the lines between enemy and ally. Who was killing to join, who was fighting to survive—it was impossible to tell.

I sighed inwardly.

‘People with nothing to lose are such a hassle.’

They have nothing. Killing them gains nothing. Literally lives lighter and less valuable than bullets.

That’s why they’re a nuisance to pillagers. Fighting them just wastes resources and time.

 

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