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I holed up in my room and just wrote. No matter what my pillager companions were up to, I didn’t care, busily moving my pen across the notebook.

I drafted the Pillage Manual, refined it, and finally completed it. I then rewrote it multiple times to produce several copies of the Pillage Manual.

A mindset that dyes people’s hearts with malice and venom. A methodology for effectively using malice and venom in pillaging. The crafting methods for various weapons to be used in that methodology. The Pillage Manual, completed with examples from every situation I’ve seen and experienced.

While I was doing this, my companions sometimes brought me meals, and occasionally, I could hear them shouting or crying in sorrow.

Day after day, as time passed, my companions seemed to gradually accept the situation and find their own paths.

Finally, as I put the finishing touches on the last Pillage Manual, I glanced out the window.

“The snow has stopped…”

A week had passed. The first snow, which had fallen like a blizzard, had stopped, and even the occasional flurries had ceased.

The winter sky, cleared of dark clouds, stretched outside the window. The ruined city beneath the pale sky was completely covered in snow. A world bleached white.

Now was the time for my pillager companions to move. Whether to continue escaping the city or to descend into infighting.

As expected.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunshots rang out in succession. It wasn’t a raid—it was infighting. The pale streets were empty, and the gunfire came from inside the building.

I smirked and pulled out my handgun.

“A split? Interesting.”

The pillager organization had divided into the infected and the uninfected. A split was inevitable.

What I was curious about was who had taken the lead. Who would replace me? Who had caused the split and purged the others?

I lightly swung my handgun, waiting for the uninvited guest. Soon, the victor of the civil war opened the door and cautiously stepped inside.

It was the Deceptive Mercenary. Behind him stood the Cup Noodles Mercenary, eyes downcast, aiming a rifle at me.

“How have you been? What have you been up to?”

The Deceptive Mercenary, despite having blood splattered on him, greeted me as calmly as ever, as if nothing had happened.

I watched them with interest, then fixed my gaze on the Cup Noodles Mercenary.

“You. I thought you were infected. Ah, your kid wasn’t infected, was he?”

I think I understand the situation.

The uninfected Deceptive Mercenary had become the new leader, gathering as many people as possible to purge the infected.

The uninfected naturally followed the Deceptive Mercenary in search of survival, and it seemed some of the infected had also been swayed by his words.

The Cup Noodles Mercenary avoided my gaze and muttered as if talking to himself.

“Boss, I’m sorry… but my kid has to live.”

It seemed he had joined the Deceptive Mercenary’s ambush in exchange for a promise to take care of his child. A cunning move, typical of the Deceptive Mercenary.

I swung my handgun, then turned my gaze back to the Deceptive Mercenary, locking eyes with him. I was curious about this man I couldn’t quite figure out.

“I’d like to crack open your head and see what you’re thinking. What do you want?”

A man with a demeanor similar to mine. But I couldn’t tell what he was after. If he sought power, he had plenty of chances to rebel against me. But he didn’t seem to enjoy pillaging either.

I couldn’t figure out what he was thinking.

The Deceptive Mercenary answered in a calm voice.

“Nothing, really. I have no reason to live, but no reason to die either, so I just keep living.”

“That’s… disappointing.”

So he was just living. I had hoped he’d be something like my successor, continuing the pillaging.

After a moment of thought, I tried to think positively.

‘Well, it’s not bad.’

After all, he’s a man without moral compass, just like me. In fact, without any intent for pleasure or self-realization, he might do even more terrible things coldly, just for the sake of survival.

“Here.”

“What’s this?”

I tossed a copy of the Pillage Manual onto the floor. The Deceptive Mercenary looked at the pile of papers with a faint sense of caution.

As if it were a bomb rather than paper, he even took a step back. He seemed wary that I might use it as a means to do something else.

I waved my hand dismissively.

“Think of it as a will. I wrote down what I was thinking and what I did. It’ll be useful when dealing with people. Even if I become a zombie and die, my spirit should remain.”

“…”

The Deceptive Mercenary hesitated for a moment, then obediently bent down to pick up the pile of papers. I took that moment to aim my handgun at the back of his head. His movements froze.

I stepped closer and whispered low.

“Pick that up, stand, and don’t do anything stupid. Turn around.”

I still have a lot to do. If I leave it like this, I’ll die at his hands, and I can’t just sit back and take it. I disguised it as the final will of a leader to lower his guard, then threatened his life.

The Cup Noodles Mercenary looked unsure, his finger on the trigger, while the Deceptive Mercenary slowly picked up the Pillage Manual and stood, meeting my gaze.

Suddenly, the Deceptive Mercenary let out a hollow laugh.

“You’ll become a zombie in two weeks. Are you really going to keep this up until the end? Why not just die cleanly here?”

“I have a lot to do in two weeks. I’ve become a virus generator for the first time, so I should enjoy the rest of my life.”

A week had passed. Now I could infect others with my breath. I’ve obtained poison as a weapon, so I should use it to my heart’s content.

The Deceptive Mercenary flipped through the papers, then nodded.

“This will definitely be helpful.”

“Then get going. Change your route and destination. Jeondohyeong leaked information to the alliance.”

“Is that so?”

I spoke as if there was no time to waste on him. The Deceptive Mercenary studied my head, as if considering whether to kill me. I offered him a benefit.

“I’ll hold them back. I’ll kill as many as I can before I die.”

When I implied that keeping me alive would be helpful, the Deceptive Mercenary blinked.

“Do you need anything?”

“Two weeks’ worth of food. Plenty of lighters. And lots of candy.”

“I don’t know what you’re planning, but I’ll support you. …Let’s go.”

With that, the Deceptive Mercenary turned and walked away, step by step. The Cup Noodles Mercenary, relieved, lowered his rifle and bowed his head.

“Thanks to you, Boss, my child and I have lived without want. Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. By the way, I’ll soon become a zombie. What will you do?”

“When the time comes, I’ll leave alone. What else can I do? …If we meet as zombies, I’ll count on you then.”

I chuckled. I waited, tense until they left, watching the survivors hurry away.

‘The Real Estate Uncle survived. Did Wooul die?’

The group’s size had significantly decreased, but they still had plenty of weapons and food. With fewer people, the remaining members had more to eat. They even had a machine gun.

They’ll probably become a decent pillager group somewhere else.

The snow that had fallen covered the roads in white. Corpses and trash were buried beneath the snow. My companions trudged step by step down that road.

I watched their retreating figures for a moment, then began to pack my things.

“I should get moving too.”

I packed the food they left into my bag, along with the Pillage Manual. I also unwrapped individually wrapped candies and poured them into a glass bottle, then spat into it and mixed it. I stuffed all the lighters into my pockets.

Finally, I looked around the empty house.

A house with only me left. No one by my side. Silent and cold. I couldn’t help but chuckle.

‘I’ll die and disappear, but those who learned from me will continue to pillage.’

That’s enough.

***

There’s not much to do, really. As an individual, my capabilities are limited, so I need to focus on turning more people into threats.

I took off my mask and enjoyed the cool winter air as I wandered the city all day. Looking for someone to share the Pillage Manual with, someone else to pass on the malice.

“Why can’t I find anyone?”

I grumbled as I walked. My feet kept sinking into the snowdrifts. Maybe it’s because of the road conditions, but people are hard to find.

But I used the observational skills I learned from Park Yang-gun to find traces of people. Footprints left in the snow and snowdrifts that had been scooped out for water.

I followed the tracks and entered an abandoned commercial building, where I encountered a zombie horde.

“Keeeek?”

A few zombies, bundled up in clothes, were huddled together like penguins, shivering. They looked at me warily.

I smirked.

‘Found them.’

One of my targets. A zombie horde.

The zombies didn’t react violently to me, seeing me as one of their own without a mask, but they didn’t welcome me either. They seemed to covet my nice clothes.

“Keeeek.”

The shivering zombies shuffled closer. I reached into my pocket, pulled out a lighter, and lit it. Then I set fire to some trash nearby.

The zombies’ eyes lit up as if they’d found what they’d been searching for, and they immediately started feeding the flames with more trash.

‘Have they already used fire before?’

They knew how to use fire. They must have encountered a campfire left by survivors before. They just didn’t know how to start one.

This makes things a bit easier.

I threw them a few lighters and showed them how to use them. They quickly started using the lighters.

I watched the zombies with satisfaction.

‘At least they won’t freeze to death in winter.’

Instead, they’ll become monsters that waste resources. They’ll burn clothes they don’t wear, furniture, maybe even machinery, and eventually, firewood meant for people.

Burning down the city failed, but I’ll leave behind embers. Let them compete with zombies for firewood.

The zombies gathered around the growing flames.

“Keeeek!”

I let out a pointless scream and joined them, teaching them a few more things. How to make a sling from shoelaces and cloth, and how to throw firewood with it.

After teaching them everything I could, I stood up. I needed to spread fire to more zombie hordes.

“Keeeek.”

But the zombies started following me, as if accepting me as their new leader.

I scowled and let out a roar to chase them away.

“Keeeeeeek!”

I haven’t even finished distributing the Pillage Manual yet. What am I supposed to do with a bunch of zombies following me?

 

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