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After finishing the meal and walking again, the Real Estate Uncle, our guide, stopped in his tracks. He quietly observed the buildings lined up on both sides of the road ahead, then turned around.

“We need to turn back here. Some zombies were throwing bricks like monkeys.”

“Are they hiding inside the buildings?”

“Yes. Last time I came to scout, I was attacked too. I barely escaped by pedaling my bike like crazy.”

I nodded calmly.

“Let’s turn back.”

There’s no need to fight these zombies. They seem to have mastered the art of siege warfare. Fighting them would just waste bullets and time. There doesn’t seem to be any resources to gain here, so it’s more of a loss.

Besides…

I glanced around. I thought I saw human shadows flickering around the corners of buildings and alleyways.

“It doesn’t look like there are just one or two chasing us.”

The suspicious signs that Park Yang-gun had been wary of were increasing. Now even I could feel it.

Zombies observing, survivors searching, pillagers looking for weaknesses—it felt like a swarm of moths rushing toward a bonfire of resources.

In this situation, there’s no gain in fighting zombies who are skilled in siege warfare.

“Please continue guiding us. Everyone else, stay alert.”

It wasn’t the right time to stop and rest either.

The kids and the old man looked exhausted, groaning in pain, but no one suggested taking a break. Even though their joints ached and blisters were forming on their feet, they all knew it wasn’t time to rest.

I pushed the cart behind the Real Estate Uncle, but my senses were spread out in all directions. With wide vision and perked ears, I could feel the signs.

Shadows, low growls from behind buildings, the sound of footsteps on the dirt.

‘They’re getting closer.’

It’s about time for a probing attack. And once someone attacks, it’ll explode into a full-on assault as all the lurking creatures pounce.

***

Even if it’s hard to know our exact destination, we can predict a short route. We stopped in front of the siege zombies’ territory and turned around, so they probably expected us to cross that area and are trying to cut us off.

That’s why the swarm of moths started by blocking our path.

A wall of flames blocked our way. The sound of furniture and trash burning. Clearly a man-made trap.

I gripped the combat cart tightly, my expression hardening.

‘An ambush?’

They probably set the fire to distract us and then attack. I frowned, feeling the unpleasant sensation of being dragged into someone else’s scenario. A situation where we have to react passively.

“I’ll put out the fire.”

Some of the companions who had stopped started fumbling for fire extinguishers. The fire extinguishers we brought as important resources. I stopped their hands as they clumsily tried to pull the pins.

“Stop.”

“Huh?”

“I said stop.”

I looked around and put my finger on the trigger.

The city was full of good ambush spots. Just entering a nearby building could be an ambush. They could shoot from high floors with handguns or throw objects. Reinforced concrete buildings were like bulletproof vests.

“They’re probably hiding somewhere here.”

The tall commercial buildings on either side of the road. Humans must be hiding somewhere.

I thought quickly.

‘The terrain advantage is theirs. The front is blocked by flames. It’s hard to make use of firearms. If we keep being dragged around like this, we’ll just waste our spirit, stamina, and ammunition.’

For a moment, I stared at the flames. Without blinking, I glared at the fire, my eyes reflecting the flames, and smirked.

“I can’t be the only one at a disadvantage. Let’s fuel the fire. Let’s see if we can attack even if the buildings catch fire.”

The companions blinked. They seemed stunned, not understanding my words, then rushed toward me in panic.

“No! If the fire gets out of control, the whole city will burn!”

“That townhouse might catch fire too!”

I looked at them calmly. They had fallen behind the line, but it was just because their brakes had failed, not because they had truly lost their edge.

Perhaps because we had been moving as the strong, our guard had loosened without us realizing.

“It’s not time to look at me.”

At that moment, when the companions’ attention was on me.

Bang, a gunshot rang out. A bullet fired from a window beyond the flames hit a distant streetlight. Sparks flew.

At the same time, objects like paving stones and chairs started being thrown from nearby windows, and the growls of zombies came from behind us.

“Kreeeek!”

“Kraaaak!”

The unintended perfect coordination of the moths who had gathered solely for our resources. I quickly hid behind the bulletproof plate of the combat cart and let out a hollow laugh.

‘This is what happens when you recklessly enter someone else’s territory without information.’

But this level of disadvantage isn’t insurmountable. The companions and their families skillfully hid under the carts and carriages, maintaining formation while pointing their guns in all directions.

Immediate return fire began.

“Shoot! Fourth-floor window!”

“Handgun on the third floor beyond the flames!”

The enemy’s gunfire, our sporadic shots, the dull sound of paving stones raining down, the pained groans of those hit by chairs, and the growls of approaching zombies.

I pushed the cart toward the zombies.

“Just suppress the enemies in the windows! I’ll mow down the zombies with the machine gun. You two, set the buildings on fire!”

Suppressing the enemies shooting and throwing from the windows is enough. Meanwhile, setting the buildings on fire will kill them all.

As for the zombies…

“Wait, why are the zombies taking cover?”

Have they learned the danger of firearms? The zombies were hiding behind cars and building walls, slowly approaching. I caught glimpses of weapons or bricks in their hands.

Despite their terrifying growls, their movements were cautious, and they didn’t get too close.

Have they learned about magazines? Using numbers and cautious approaches to deplete our ammunition before attacking? A hunting method to drain our “health” in the form of bullets?

“The machine gun is useless up front.”

I pulled the trigger. The bullets poured out like horizontal rain, sweeping away the zombie horde. The machine gun’s bullets, which could pierce even cars, were like a rain of death.

The lucky zombies who survived bared their yellow teeth, growled, and crouched low.

They had figured out the weakness of the machine gun, which couldn’t aim downward due to its awkward placement on the cart.

“Kreeeek!”

The zombies let out growls and began to scatter, some entering nearby buildings, others running far away.

Around that time, the companions who had gone to set the fires returned. They weren’t reporting to me but rather threatening the moths, raising their voices.

“We set the buildings on fire!”

“Good job.”

I smirked and raised my hand. Stop shooting. The gunfire ceased instantly. The enemy also stopped attacking.

“We set the buildings on fire. Come out before you burn to death.”

My voice, muffled by the gunfire.

Soon, there were signs of movement. The sound of moths using fire extinguishers to put out the flames. Some companions went to block their escape.

From the buildings on either side, moths with guns pointed at their backs crawled out with blank expressions.

***

They glanced at other survivors, sighing with regret.

“I didn’t expect you to set the buildings on fire.”

I quietly observed these survivors. Despite the gunfight, there was no shock, and no one had died.

We only had a few injured from bricks and chairs. Human resilience is this tenacious, and urban combat is this difficult.

No wonder the military abandoned the city.

“You must’ve been really hungry. Attacking us like that.”

“We’re not starving. We gather food when we can. It’d be nice to get your guns too.”

One of the moths replied.

Was that a hint that they had resources? That they could pay with their lives?

“Was your plan to keep depleting our ammunition? Poking and running?”

“Ammunition is expendable. I thought we could negotiate if we kept annoying you.”

I fiddled with my mask for a moment and looked around at the companions. One was rubbing their shoulder after being hit by a brick, and a family member groaned in pain from a chair.

I muttered.

“I told you to fuel the fire from the start…”

I’m right, and you’re wrong. If this repeats, we won’t even be able to doubt. Seizing this chance to plant another fence in the companions’ minds, I focused back on the moths.

Since we can’t attack the townhouse today anyway, we’ll pillage these humans’ resources and use them as labor.

I gestured to Jeondohyeong.

“You’re prisoners now. Jeondohyeong, tie their fingers and wrists with cable ties and rope. Tie their ankles like handcuffs to restrict them.”

“Yes.”

We’ll use them as bait and trap disablers when we attack the townhouse.

 

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