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The Police Officer Leader slung a shotgun over his shoulder and walked straight toward me.

He moved with a natural, confident stride, as if he didn’t care about the machine gun mounted on the rooftop of a guard tower-like house or the muzzles of the guns aimed at him by his gathered companions.

“Our friend—no, are we still friends?”

“Of course. Even if I don’t know about the Delivery Vigilante Group, the Police Officer Leader and the Alliance are still friends.”

Standing behind the barricade, I smiled softly at the Police Officer Leader. Glancing up at the sky, I noticed a drone hovering in the air.

‘He didn’t come on behalf of the Delivery Vigilante Group, but the Alliance.’

The Police Officer Leader, who dislikes Rider Zero, came in person. That drone isn’t borrowed—it’s being operated by the Electric Nomad himself.

Is he wary of the last resort I mentioned in front of the Alliance before—burning the city down?

“How much do you know about the situation?”

“I know what I know, and I don’t know what I don’t. What’s important is that, regardless of the facts, the current situation isn’t exactly pleasant.”

The Police Officer Leader tilted his posture slightly, then placed his hand on the shoulder of a Rider standing behind him. He then tightened his grip and pulled the Rider’s neck forward.

“You openly messed with our delivery riders. Are you planning to antagonize the Alliance? Threatening us with wildfires?”

I didn’t answer. Instead, I raised my hand and pointed behind me. To the traces of flames left where I had thrown Molotov cocktails.

“Start looking from there.”

“Huh?”

The Police Officer Leader turned his head to see the traces of the fire. Drawing on his experience as a police officer, he quickly reconstructed the situation based on the clues provided. Using the information he had.

“Arson? The Riders attacked you first? I don’t believe it. That’s not her style.”

“I don’t know the reason either. All I know is that the Riders started the arson, we retaliated, and the Delivery Vigilante Group became our enemies. That’s all.”

It was a lie. But the truth didn’t matter. What mattered was whether it seemed plausible. Whether the lie served a purpose.

I smirked at the Rider.

“You should ask him for the reason.”

The Police Officer Leader seemed lost in thought, tilting his head slightly before looking back and forth between the Rider and me.

“If you’re hiding anything, speak up. Did you leave any corpses? I want to check the state of the bodies. The location, time, and weapon used when they were killed.”

He wanted to perform an autopsy to uncover the exact truth.

I subtly stiffened my expression. While it seemed like a fair move, the fact that he was trying to be fair already showed that his loyalty had shifted away from me.

If we were friends, he should’ve taken my side here. He should’ve pinned the blame for all this conflict on the Riders and attacked the Delivery Vigilante Group.

For a moment, various thoughts raced through my mind.

‘Is the Alliance truly united? Are they wary of us as a threat? Or is the Alliance in a bad situation, trying to build a justification to attack us?’

Once suspicion sets in, everything seems suspicious. In this situation, there was only one response I could choose: a threat.

I calmly deflected the question.

“Hmm, I don’t remember where I dumped the bodies.”

I won’t cooperate. Judge as you please. But remember this one thing.

“Wildfires cause a lot of damage, don’t they? The bodies of those who tried to commit such a terrible act probably won’t be in good condition even if you find them.”

If you fight me, I’ll set the mountain on fire. The damage I can cause would be devastating even for the Alliance.

The Police Officer Leader glared at me with fierce eyes, as if sharp breaths were escaping through his mask.

“Hey. Do I look like someone who’d just stand by and take threats?”

“Threats? When did I ever threaten you?”

I calmly met his gaze, and we engaged in a staring contest. How long had it been? The Rider, who had been standing idly by, spoke up in annoyance.

“What are you even talking about with these people? You’ve dealt with enough, haven’t you, Officer? This guy’s out of control. And look here.”

The Rider, who seemed to be a high-ranking member of the Delivery Vigilante Group, pointed at the machine gun mounted on the guard tower and the mountain, then shuddered.

“How many people would die trying to break through here? You attacked the Delivery Vigilante Group because you’re ready to fight the Alliance too. You’ll do more in the future.”

I let out a hollow laugh.

“The one who started the arson has a lot to say. Let me make this clear: you attacked first. And I don’t back down from fights I’ve walked into.”

“We attacked first? We’ve been waiting for your downfall. We’re still waiting.”

…Did they not reveal that the Rider we killed was an avenger? Does this mean they don’t plan to resolve this through words? Are they trying to build a messy justification to attack us?

It seems this isn’t just a conflict with the Delivery Vigilante Group. It’s already escalated to an Alliance-level issue.

The reason is important.

I narrowed my eyes at the Rider, then turned my gaze back to the Police Officer Leader.

“It feels like you’re forcing a reason to fight. Is the Alliance in a bad situation? Are things so bad that you’re targeting even us, armed with rifles?”

“A reason?”

The Police Officer Leader adjusted his grip on his rifle and aimed it at me.

“You’re the one who wants to fight. You moved to the foothills, ready to set the mountain on fire if things go south. You even armed yourself with military-grade weapons. And now you’ve messed with an Alliance member.”

Hmm. A plausible excuse, but not a meticulous one.

“And you still think we’re overreacting?”

But one question remained unanswered, and I tilted my head.

“Then what gives you the confidence to come here? If we decided to fight, you’d all be dead, wouldn’t you?”

If you’re prepared for war, you shouldn’t come here like this. You should’ve launched a surprise attack. On the other hand, coming here to talk things out doesn’t make sense.

Did you come here to assassinate me? The Police Officer Leader himself? To take out the leader first and then start the fight?

When I glanced at the shotgun’s muzzle, the Police Officer Leader nervously lowered it.

“I came to warn you. A final warning. If you cross the line even a little, we won’t stand by. See that drone over there?”

“I see it.”

“Next time, drones armed with improvised explosives will rain down. Remember that.”

A warning?

It’s just a play on words, something they can manipulate however they want. Just like we framed the arsonist as an avenger, they’ll fabricate a reason to target us if they feel the need.

And it felt like that day wasn’t far off.

‘It seems the Alliance already sees us as enemies. This warning feels like preparation for a future attack.’

Anyway, it doesn’t seem like they want to fight right now. I don’t know about the Alliance’s situation, but they seem busy with various combat preparations or drought countermeasures, buying time.

I smirked and aimed my rifle—not at the Police Officer Leader, but at the Rider.

“The line.”

I pulled the trigger immediately, firing the gun. The high-precision rifle didn’t fail, hitting the Rider squarely. The echoing gunshot and the Rider collapsing in a pool of blood.

In the silence that followed, as if time had stopped, I asked the Police Officer Leader.

“Did I cross the line?”

***

There’s no need to follow a warning thrown by a future enemy. Especially when the warning itself is just a tool to build a justification. A justification for future combat.

The Police Officer Leader tilted his head slightly, looking down at the Rider’s corpse, then slowly turned his body toward me.

“You. Don’t you understand human speech?”

“I told you. I don’t back down from fights I’ve walked into. You attacked first, and now you’re saying I crossed the line? Haha.”

I provoked him slightly, sharpening my tone.

“Do I look like someone who’d just stand by and take threats, Officer?”

“….”

The Police Officer Leader aimed his shotgun at me, and I aimed back at him. I smiled without hesitation.

“If you want to pick a fight, don’t just talk—bring people and come at me. I’ll cremate them all. Let’s all burn to death together. I even got a motorcycle now; I could probably burn down the city.”

I let out all the venom I’d been holding back. Imagining the city ablaze, it felt like the world was turning red.

The Police Officer Leader gritted his teeth and put away his shotgun.

“We’ll see each other later.”

“I won’t come out to greet you. Oh, and tell the Alliance’s higher-ups something. I don’t want to fight you, but if you keep provoking me, I won’t stay quiet.”

The Police Officer Leader got on his police motorcycle and sped off. I quietly watched his retreating figure.

From behind me, uneasy voices reached my ears. My companions.

“Is this really okay?”

“Are we really going to fight the Alliance?”

I calmly turned to face them.

“Don’t worry. If they have drones, we have arson. They won’t mess with us lightly.”

Who knows? From what I can tell, the Alliance seems to be preparing for a fight.

‘Is it because of the drought? Zombies? Some other problem?’

There must be some external issue causing the Alliance’s organizations to move as one.

 

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