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If there are too many problems, and those problems could lead to the alliance’s division, wouldn’t they create an external enemy? Naturally, we were the perfect fit for that external enemy.

Armed with military firearms, a ruthless determination to set the mountains on fire if things go south, and already visible conflicts—it’s more than enough to attack the pillager group, who are already a thorn in our side.

But Jeondohyeong looked at me with slightly annoyed eyes and started nagging.

“That doesn’t seem right. If we had just handled the situation better when the police came to warn us last time, it would’ve blown over.”

“We can’t let it go. If the situation gets that bad, it’s only natural for us to target them.”

I responded with a baffled tone, but Jeondohyeong shook his head vigorously.

“Even now, after we killed a rider in front of the police, there’s a lot of debate about whether to fight us or not. Some say we should attack because we can’t just leave them alone, while others say there’s no need to stir up trouble.”

Listening to Jeondohyeong, it seemed like the alliance was in the middle of heated discussions about us.

The police and archers obviously wanted to eliminate us, and even the riders and firefighters were subtly in favor. The riders wanted revenge, and the firefighters wanted to quickly neutralize potential arsonists.

On the other hand, the Hope Community opposed it, perhaps out of past loyalty, and the doctor opposed it, saying it would be hard to treat the wounded properly if things escalated…

As I listened to Jeondohyeong, I fiddled with my mask and roughly summarized the situation.

“Mr. Ho’s scavengers are too busy dealing with zombie attacks, and the Electric Nomad doesn’t care. Four votes in favor, two against, and two abstentions? We’re going to fight.”

“If we had handled the police situation better, this wouldn’t have come up.”

Hmm. I don’t believe it.

The situation was bad in many ways. The world had dried up and turned into firewood. Just a single spark, and the alliance would turn into a massive flame, attacking from all sides.

Jeondohyeong relayed the advice of the Evangelical Elder, but I brushed it off.

“He said if we bow our heads and apologize first, we might be able to smooth things over, so think carefully before acting.”

“Hmm…”

It’s meaningless. The alliance is suffering from three major disasters: drought, zombies, and fire. Conflict was already inevitable.

At this point, we need to seriously consider war. Drones, assassination countermeasures, the timing of using wildfires as a weapon, and the aftermath of the fires.

I muttered to myself.

“If we fight the alliance, what should we do?”

“…Are you really planning to fight?”

Jeondohyeong asked in a low voice, his dark eyes fixed on me.

“We need to prepare for the worst. Let’s say we apologize first. What if the alliance doesn’t accept it? Or what if they demand other conditions?”

I rambled on.

“What if they scare us with wildfires and kick us out of the townhouse? We’d lose our solar-powered homes and underground water facilities. Most importantly, we’d lose one of our weapons against the alliance.”

If we show weakness once, we’ll keep getting pushed back. Both the alliance and we are predator-like groups, and in this wild world, if you look weak to a predator, you become prey.

Moreover, it seems the alliance, the predator, is starting to get hungry.

“Besides, do you really think the alliance will leave us alone?”

“Some people don’t want to fight, and some don’t care.”

“No. If the situation gets worse, those people will target us first.”

I looked up at the ceiling and wrote a scenario from the alliance’s perspective.

The townhouse with underground water facilities. It’s advantageous for defense. It’s also a good area for farming, so the alliance would covet it.

Plus, they’d naturally want to eliminate us, the unstable element, and the various resources we have are worth fighting for.

Jeondohyeong also seemed lost in thought, staying silent for a while before slowly speaking.

“If we have to fight… wouldn’t it be better to escape the city before the fight starts?”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

As Sajihyeok emphasized, an exit strategy is important.

Even if I’m the type to be satisfied dying together, if we can live, it’s not bad. As long as we’re alive, we can enjoy the fun of pillaging, right?

The most important thing is to cause as much damage as possible even if we run.

Various scenarios flowed through my mind.

‘Arson is a must. The flames will bring chaos and scatter the alliance’s forces.’

Then I suddenly said,

“Let’s first assume the alliance suddenly attacks and plan our escape route.”

“Should I get the map?”

“The map is already here.”

Jeondohyeong sighed in relief like someone who had just been reassured and spoke brightly, and I brought out the map I had stashed in this house.

“We need to set fires first. That way, we’ll have time to escape leisurely.”

“No…”

Jeondohyeong looked at me with an unreadable expression but soon realized the situation and wiped his face.

“That’s true, but… Ah. This is really too much…”

“Stop talking nonsense. First, let’s prepare survival backpacks so we can escape anytime, and when we do, we’ll scatter and regroup here.”

I pointed at a spot on the map with my finger. The place where I first killed someone, where the zombie outbreak began.

Villa Street.

“After escaping, we’ll regroup here a few hours later, and once we’re together, we’ll escape the city. Of course, while everyone is escaping, we’ll set fires all over the city.”

The street trees have turned into firewood and disappeared, but there’s still plenty of firewood in the world. The drainage ditches are full of leaves and trash, and the roadsides are littered with abandoned cars and corpses.

If we set these on fire properly, the flames will spread far with the wind.

I had a vision of the map burning red and black. I could almost feel the acrid smoke and flying ash.

‘The firewood for winter, the food and resources hidden somewhere, they’ll all turn to trash.’

The alliance won’t be able to handle it either. They have to. If they mess with me, they’ll have to deal with this.

Then.

Bang, bang, gunshots rang out. Maybe because we’re on the mountainside. The echoing gunshots sounded light, like pistol shots. We jerked our heads up and looked out the window.

“…Are they attacking already? After just one day? And with gunfire?”

***

We hurriedly ran to the entrance. If we went straight up to the rooftop of the guard post-like building, the comrade on watch was frowning deeply, looking down the road in the distance.

The comrade turned around.

“Are you here?”

“Yes. It sounded like pistol shots. What’s going on?”

“Someone shot at us from far away.”

Following the comrade’s pointed finger, I could see the commercial area below the townhouse.

“From inside the commercial area?”

“Yes. It’s too far to see clearly.”

“I saw it!”

A shout came from the opposite guard post. Since we had machine guns mounted on both sides of the entrance, there were guards there too.

The guard on the opposite side pointed to his eyes and reported in an annoyed voice.

“My eyes are good, so I saw. It wasn’t someone from the alliance. It was a townhouse person.”

“I see.”

A survivor from the townhouse? Suddenly armed with a pistol and shooting at us for no reason? This feels less like revenge and more like someone following orders.

“The police…”

I let out a hollow laugh. It’s the police’s doing. No, not just the police, but probably with the help of the riders too.

The riders found the townhouse survivors, and the police recruited them. Just like they recruited mercenaries to fight the military before, they’re gathering survivors here to keep us in check.

“Is this the alliance’s doing?”

“It seems they’re using mercenaries again. If they fight directly, they have too much to lose, so they’re just scratching at us…”

It’s their way of drawing a line. If they fight us head-on and we feel threatened, we’ll set the mountains on fire, so they’re not posing a fatal threat but steadily inflicting damage.

I calmly smiled and said to the guards,

“The alliance won’t directly mess with us.”

“That’s a relief, but…”

The guard’s voice was tinged with worry. They seemed uneasy about the thought of being ambushed day and night. Even with machine guns mounted, there’s no light here. If they sneak up in the dark, it’s hard to notice.

“Let’s see. Let’s set up alarm devices with cans and strings on the road. And.”

I looked down the road and tapped the machine gun.

“If we just kill those guys, there won’t be any ambushes for a while.”

They’re just following the police’s orders, and they’re not vengeful. If they were vengeful, they would’ve set fires first.

Without that level of malice, they’re just prey. They rely on weapons given by the police, not ones they’ve earned themselves, and they probably have the optimistic dream of reclaiming the townhouse. They’re just flies annoying us.

Then Jeondohyeong fidgeted and said,

“If they support us with explosives like before, it’ll be dangerous.”

“They won’t do that. If they use explosives, it’ll be a real fight with the alliance, and then we’ll set the mountains on fire.”

If they were going to give mercenaries explosives, they would’ve sent drones first. I glanced up at the sky.

Clear, high, and blue. I was thinking about drones, but suddenly another thought came to me.

‘We’ve been able to threaten with wildfires because it hasn’t rained. If it rains… I don’t think the alliance will hesitate.’

We’ve been using wildfires, a natural disaster, as our most important weapon. But in the end, it’s a natural disaster, so we’re dependent on the weather.

Maybe the alliance is buying time, waiting for the rain to come.

 

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