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The flies’ eyes rolled around. Originally, they weren’t members of the alliance but had somehow ended up as mercenaries for the alliance.

For such aimless survivors, their own benefit is the most important. If we offer greater gains, they wouldn’t hesitate to betray.

One of the flies slowly spoke up.

“You must have heard from the betrayer. In exchange for some food and a handgun, we agreed to annoy you. We were also promised the townhouse once you leave.”

They’re hinting at wanting a better deal.

I chuckled and waved my rifle. The muzzle’s trajectory brushed past the bodies of the four flies.

“And I can kill you. Let’s calculate the gains and losses properly.”

“We can kill you too. This is an equal trade.”

“Then shall we call off the deal? Part ways here?”

I meaningfully stared at each of the four flies. Since I created this situation, I could control it. After all, I had more means to threaten them. Even if it was a bluff.

“Be careful when you eat from now on. You never know when a virus might enter your mouths.”

At the implication of a betrayer, the flies’ expressions hardened.

In their minds, the betrayer was already among them. For some reason, they didn’t think I had spared the person I captured, so they suspected the betrayer was one of them.

In a way, this was their last chance. Otherwise, they would be consumed by suspicion and distrust, leading to inevitable division.

“Is there really a betrayer?”

Of course, some were quick to catch on. One of the flies muttered suspiciously.

“If you were going to use such a method, there’s no need to say it out loud. It would be better to do it secretly.”

“Haha. Isn’t it fun? Is there a betrayer? Isn’t there? If there is, who is it? Really, isn’t there? Should we trust each other? From a distance, there’s nothing more entertaining than this.”

I observed them with pure amusement. The scheme using the betrayer, the plan to mess with the alliance using them—it all seemed like I was doing it for fun.

‘Fun is the most important thing, after all.’

In this world, nothing ever goes as planned. No matter how meticulously you craft a scenario, unexpected accidents always happen. I had to adapt on the fly and find joy in the chaos.

The flies’ eyes darted around uneasily. They looked at me, then at each other, wary of the criminal companions surrounding them.

I boldly lowered my gun and stepped aside, opening a path for them.

“If you want to leave, go ahead. But next time, bring more people. If you’ve managed to secure a promise to reclaim the townhouse, you should make use of it, right?”

If they fail, we still gain something. I gave them sincere advice.

“Use the townhouse occupancy rights to recruit people from around here. You could gather a decent crowd, couldn’t you?”

Lately, it’s been hard to find survivors. Pillaging has become difficult. Ultimately, you need to lure people in with bait, and they could be used as bait.

“…”

“…”

Even though I opened the path, the flies remained silent and unmoved. They seemed lost in thought, frozen.

I grew bored and aimed my gun again.

“Time’s wasting. Make your choice.”

“What do we have to do, and what do we gain?”

After much deliberation, the flies finally spoke up. The most important thing. I glanced at Sajihyeok, but realizing he didn’t fully grasp the impromptu plan, I spoke up myself.

“The reward is simple. No need to risk your lives fighting us. Basic supplies. As for what you have to do…”

I quickly laid out the scenario to them.

“Keep doing what you’re doing. Lure in survivors as I said, squeeze resources from the alliance. And incidentally, feed us information.”

Use the townhouse occupancy rights to gather people. Use the increased numbers as an excuse to demand more handguns and food. Push those people into the traps we set.

We’ll recover the handguns from the dead.

Sajihyeok, true to his scammer nature, immediately understood my plan and chimed in.

“Hahaha. Easy enough. Even without occupancy rights, if you offer food, plenty of people will join.”

“Maybe. From what I’ve seen, street people are unusually suspicious.”

One of the flies muttered in a subdued voice, and I waved my hand dismissively.

“If food is scarce, they’ll do anything. Just try it.”

“Alright. But how do we pass on the information?”

“Just throw a piece of paper when you come to provoke us at night. Anything about the alliance’s movements, their meeting spots, patterns, or any changes.”

The flies sighed and nodded, then suddenly asked.

“Alright. But who’s the betrayer among us? Is there really one? If we’re on your side now, you could at least tell us that much.”

“There isn’t one.”

I answered honestly. After all, the truth didn’t matter. Suspicion is something that exists in people’s minds.

I grinned and added lightly.

“But betrayal is always welcome. If you notice anything suspicious, come and report it immediately. We’ll make room for you in the townhouse.”

By hinting at the possibility of betrayal, they would inevitably keep an eye on each other. Like our chairman’s virus, it drives people apart.

The flies let out heavy sighs or frowned deeply.

“Your words… whatever.”

They turned their backs and started filling plastic bottles with river water. Their exposed backs. For a moment, my finger twitched toward the trigger, but I held back and signaled to my companions.

“Let’s go.”

“Good thing we saved bullets.”

We chatted lightly but kept an eye on the flies as we backed away. Just as I had wanted to shoot them in the back, they might have wanted to target our rear.

As we slowly retreated and the flies were out of sight, Sajihyeok spoke up.

“Do you trust them?”

“No.”

I don’t trust them. In this world, there’s no one you can trust. I just make plans that are okay to fail.

Sajihyeok glanced back and spoke in a serious tone.

“Right. You shouldn’t trust them. They didn’t ask if they could return to the townhouse. That should be their biggest desire.”

“That’s true.”

Thinking about it, that’s right. Their biggest goal is to reclaim their residence. But the fact that they didn’t mention it is suspicious.

Park Yang-gun grumbled.

“They must have figured it out. They’ve wandered the streets. Stuck between the alliance and us, they know they can’t dream of the townhouse and will only suffer. They’ll just try to maximize their gains.”

“Double agents?”

When I asked, Park Yang-gun nodded.

“From their perspective, it’s beneficial to squeeze resources from both us and the alliance.”

I adjusted my mask. It made sense. A precarious tightrope walk, but as long as they’re on the rope, they won’t starve.

Then, Jeondohyeong, who had been walking silently ahead, stopped. It was where we had hidden our bicycles. Jeondohyeong let out a short, surprised sound.

“Huh?”

“What?”

“Didn’t we leave the bikes here? They’re gone.”

“What?”

We hurried over, but the bikes we had hidden between the streetlight and the wall were gone. We looked around in disbelief.

“This is the spot. Huh… We got robbed?”

“No way.”

No matter how we looked at it, this was the spot. We had been robbed. Us, who always did the robbing. We had taken others’ things, but never had ours taken.

I slumped my rifle in disbelief.

“They took the bikes, of all things. Not that they’re not valuable, but still.”

“Haha. Good for us. I was worried about falling anyway. Walking on two feet is the best, right?”

Sajihyeok said cheerfully, but we just glared at him. Finally, Jeondohyeong snapped.

“How far is it to the townhouse from here? We can’t make it back today. We’ll have to sleep on the streets.”

“Great. Camping vibes, right?”

“No, this isn’t camping, it’s a disaster… Ugh, seriously.”

I stared blankly at the spot where the bikes had been, then clenched my fist.

“From now on, anyone riding a bike gets shot on sight.”

***

It was too late to head back. The sun had already set, and darkness had fallen. And with darkness comes danger.

In the end, we entered a commercial building Park Yang-gun had chosen and set up a makeshift sleeping area.

We set up barricades, spread clothes stripped from corpses and piles of leaves on the floor, and lay down. Of course, sleep didn’t come easily in an unfamiliar place.

With the electric lantern on, we sat dazedly and engaged in meaningless conversation.

“It’s so cold. Is it because the window over there is broken?”

“We don’t have anything to start a fire with… Uncle Park Yang-gun, can you find the way back?”

“No. Can’t find it.”

Park Yang-gun looked out the window. He had blocked the light from leaking out with all sorts of junk, but it wasn’t hard to imagine the scene outside.

Darkness. A maze of dense concrete buildings that disorients people.

“It’s the first time we’ve come this way. I don’t know the way either.”

“Finding the way is hard, and if we run into zombies or pillagers and get separated, it’ll be a big problem. It’s better to stay here for the night and head back tomorrow.”

I rambled on.

It’s better not to wander the city at night. Especially if it’s your first time.

Sajihyeok took out a simple canteen and emergency rations from his pocket and chewed on them. After a while, he sighed in relief.

“Good thing we brought emergency rations.”

“It’s essential, since you never know when you’ll be stranded.”

That ended the conversation. Everyone fell silent, having nothing more to say. From the broken window in the distance, a cold wind blew in, and faint zombie growls or human screams could be heard.

We stayed still. In fact, Jeondohyeong turned off the electric lantern.

“Just in case. Don’t want to attract people or zombies.”

“Zombies are the real nuisance.”

You can pillage people, but zombies give you nothing even if you kill them.

I pressed the button on my wristwatch. The light came on, showing the time. It was still early for sleep, but there was no choice.

“Then, as we decided earlier, take turns on night watch, and move out at first light tomorrow.”

“Agreed. We need to find out who stole the bikes, seriously.”

“We have to find them and kill them.”

With that, we lay down to sleep, but sleep didn’t come easily. The floor was uncomfortable, the air was cold, and safety wasn’t guaranteed.

‘Thinking about it, I’ve been living comfortably in beds and blankets. Have I been too spoiled?’

This must be the norm for ordinary survivors. Or maybe not. Blankets should be a basic resource.

As I thought this, Jeondohyeong suddenly muttered to himself.

“Do you think the townhouse is okay? We haven’t returned.”

The leader and the criminal companions, the executives, had gone out to work and hadn’t returned. Naturally, there would be various reactions. They might just trust and wait, or they might have other plans. They might suspect.

I thought lightly.

“One day should be fine.”

We left aiming for evening, so one day is okay. But if it takes longer, there might be unrest.

The alliance situation looks bad, maybe they ran off on their own, maybe they’re dead, who’s leading now, what about us…

Imagining the companions splitting into factions, I slowly fell asleep. I closed my eyes and drifted off.

 

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