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The pastor made good use of direction.

With his face alone, unmasked, he showed his uniqueness, created a religious atmosphere during worship, and even performed by smashing zombies with a cross.

Even though I couldn’t quite match that level, there was still something to learn from it.

‘Zombie wave direction… that might work, right?’

Sitting on the toilet, I stared at my phone, tapping the screen repeatedly.

Vivid movie-like scenes popped into my head. A wave of zombies, the struggle of the Hope Community, victory after a few sacrifices, a united community filled with hope and confidence.

The only problem was how to bring the zombie wave, but that could just be outsourced, right?

Buzz—

My phone vibrated. It was some messenger app famous for its security. Apparently, a lot of groups, especially those on the edge of illegality, had been using it lately.

– Rider Zero: …Customer. You want me to bring a zombie horde? Did I read that right?

I quickly typed a reply.

– Me: Yep. Isn’t this just another kind of delivery? Zombie delivery?

The Delivery Vigilante Group, formed by a bunch of delivery riders. They handle small purchases and even take on rougher jobs.

From what I’ve heard, they’re pretty strong too. Bodies protected by helmets and rider suits, motorcycles that can dash through narrow gaps, iron clubs smashing zombies while speeding.

They truly live up to the name “knights.”

But it seems they’re not just knights in name—they’ve got the knightly spirit too.

Buzz, buzz, buzz—my phone kept vibrating.

– Rider Zero: Uh, excuse me.

– Rider Zero: I really don’t want to say this to a customer, but…

– Rider Zero: This is just wrong. Are you a terrorist? People have better things to do. Anyway, I can’t take this request. Blocked.

I stared at the screen, mouth agape.

No negotiation, no nothing. They just blocked me outright. Unbelievable.

‘Is life worth living? Has the world not completely gone to hell yet?’

No, no. It’s image-making. In the apocalypse, if a group wants to last long, it’s better not to attract others’ hostility.

If you just cause trouble everywhere, you might get raided. People are smart, so it’s not easy.

I sighed softly and looked for another chat room.

There were some who didn’t care about image-making and just lived for today. The problem was, they were real lunatics who only lived for today, so instead of a zombie wave, we might get pillager raids…

‘Ah, these guys are a bit…’

I awkwardly browsed the chat room.

The Juvenile Delinquent Gang.

The room where I had leaked one attendance sheet.

The notice had a group photo of some delinquents. Boys and girls alike, covered in tattoos, wearing tight clothes, smoking. The caption below was the cherry on top.

– Kiss to join our fam. Must swap spit.

What this meant was that only those infected with the I-Virus could join the gang. They were all basically zombie candidates.

Real lunatics who only lived for three weeks. Of course, they had no brakes.

‘Kids these days are scary…’

I shivered and quickly left the chat room. No way was I outsourcing a zombie wave to this gang.

At that point, I turned off my phone and left the bathroom.

I needed to check the streets myself. The number of zombies, the state of the streets. It was also time for a group outing.

***

Several families had gathered in the Hope Community, and about 30 people were living in the church building. Naturally, there were all sorts of people.

A young couple with a baby, college students living alone with their pets, and those who had reasons to go out regularly.

The Thief Elder shouted at the people gathered in the chapel.

“Those who need to bring supplies from home, go left! Those who need to go to the hospital, go right!”

The people split into two groups. But the number of people who needed to go to the hospital was quite high. The Thief Elder blinked.

“Are this many people sick?”

“I have high blood pressure… I need to take medication regularly.”

“I have a herniated disc.”

“Diabetes.”

“My wrist!”

Everyone was complaining about their ailments.

I slapped my forehead. Modern chronic diseases. Conditions that require constant management. Patients carrying time bombs in their bodies as the world falls apart.

For a moment, a wicked idea bubbled up, but I barely managed to suppress it.

A post I’d seen online came to mind. It said that if five people gather, at least one of them is trash. With about 30 people in the church, that means at least six are trash.

Excluding the vicious Electric Thief and the faithless Thief Elder, that leaves four pieces of trash lurking around. Compared to that…

‘Patients are better. Better than betrayal or chaos.’

At least patients are loyal. In the apocalypse, who would take in the sick? If someone does, they’ll work hard. Even if it’s just farming with plastic bottles.

“Then for the hospital… Deacon Kwon! Will you go?”

“Ah, I can’t drive. How about sending Jeondohyeong?”

I snapped out of it and nudged Jeondohyeong.

I couldn’t go to a dangerous place like the hospital. My loyal right-hand man should go.

Luckily, Jeondohyeong smiled brightly and quickly got up. It seemed Na Yae-ji, who had a sore wrist, had decided to go to the hospital too.

The Thief Elder made a slightly uncomfortable expression.

“Then, will you come along to move the supplies?”

I could guess his intentions. He probably wanted to sneakily steal something, and my presence would be a hindrance. Not that he thought I was watching him because I considered him a thief.

I quickly reassured the Thief Elder.

“I just want to check out the streets. I need to see what the city’s like these days. I don’t mind going to the hospital either.”

A thief’s territory should be respected.

But this time, Jeondohyeong hesitated. His eyes darted between Na Yae-ji and me. I had no idea why he was acting like this.

It felt like I’d become the bad boss. Even my fellow pillager companions were wary of me. My mood was starting to sour.

In the end, Jeondohyeong was the easiest target.

“Going to the hospital sounds right. Let’s also look for a doctor while we’re at it.”

“Right. Look for a doctor. But it’ll be tough.”

And so, we split up and left the church. The church’s ownerless vehicle cautiously drove down the road.

***

The trip to the hospital took a long time. The large hospitals treating zombies or the injured were too dangerous, so we tried to visit smaller hospitals in order.

Even those small hospitals had long waits due to the number of patients.

“Then, I’ll be back!”

“Hey, come with us!”

It was a dark evening.

To prepare for danger, three of us rushed into a traditional medicine clinic. Na Yae-ji said it was where she got acupuncture for her wrist. Only three people, including me, remained in the van.

Sitting in the passenger seat, I glanced at the rearview mirror. Two patients.

“I want to check out the streets for a bit. Will you come with me?”

“Uh… that’s a bit…”

“Deacon Kwon, it’s dangerous. You should stay in the car.”

What was this? Were these guys the trash? Refusing to do important street reconnaissance.

I memorized their faces in the rearview mirror, then abruptly opened the door and got out.

“Then, wait here for a bit.”

“Be careful!”

I double-checked my mask and walked down the brightly lit street. I couldn’t smell anything through the mask, but the apocalyptic vibe was strong.

A mix of shops and mansions lined the street.

Many first-floor windows were shattered, and glass shards glittered like the Milky Way on the ground. Occasionally, corpses lay on the street like they were on a picnic in the cool evening weather.

‘Surprisingly, I don’t see many zombies?’

I looked across the street. It was a food alley packed with restaurants, and a few people in fluorescent vests and armed with weapons were patrolling.

The local vigilante group. I could see dried blood on the meat cleavers.

Clearly, if you’re properly prepared, zombies aren’t too hard to handle. If vigilante groups in each area actively hunt zombies, you can achieve some level of safety.

That’s when I instinctively felt a gaze.

‘…What’s that?’

I looked around and saw an open door between walls.

And on the first floor of a mansion, through a broken window, a shadow was staring at me. No, not a person. A gurgling, faint moan, dripping saliva, bloodshot eyes.

A zombie. A zombie was glaring at me from inside the dark mansion.

‘Yikes!’

I panicked and grabbed a hammer, but the zombie bared its teeth and didn’t come out. A few other zombies peeked out from behind it, but they all stayed inside.

Goosebumps rose on my skin.

‘Learning?’

The vigilante groups had been actively hunting zombies. The zombies had experienced it and learned. They knew how to hide. Like animals avoiding dangerous predators.

They even used human houses well. Houses good for humans are good for zombies too.

For a moment, I thought of smart animals. Dogs that can open doors, cats that can turn on faucets, parrots that mimic human speech, wolves that hunt in packs, monkeys that use tools.

‘If they’re this smart… aren’t zombies pretty dangerous too? Sure, it’s good for me, but not right now, alone.’

The moment I sensed danger, it became reality.

A blackout. At 8 PM, the time when worship usually happened. The light of civilization went out, and darkness became an instinctive fear that gripped me.

A howling sound echoed from all directions.

“Kyaaa!”

The zombie that had been watching me let out a roar.

“Kreeeeek!”

“Kyaaak!”

In response, roars came from all over the street. Zombies hidden who-knows-where let out endless cries that echoed through the darkness. Like an ominous sign of an attack.

Cold sweat soaked my clothes. The night’s chill crept up on me.

‘A zombie wave? For real? Now?’

I spun around and ran to the car. From behind, beside, in front—countless presences chased me. The sound of broken glass being crushed underfoot in the darkness, countless footsteps.

Under the faint moonlight, zombie shadows wriggled out from all directions. The eerie roars overlapped into a cacophony.

Grind—my teeth clenched.

‘Why now?!’

When I was at the church, they didn’t come!

I moved my body as roughly as possible, like a zombie. It was dark anyway. If I acted similarly, the zombies might not distinguish me and attack.

I opened my mouth and let out a roar.

“Kreeeek!”

I’m a zombie. I’m one of you. No need to attack me. The darkness helped. Or maybe they hadn’t learned this yet.

At some point, I broke away from the surrounding zombies and returned to the car.

The people who had gone to the clinic also came running back in a panic. Behind them, the faint sound of an alarm clock ringing. Jeondohyeong must have used it well.

“Hurry, hurry! Uh, ahead!”

For a moment, I saw Jeondohyeong raising an axe toward me. The axe blade glinted in the moonlight.

“Hey, it’s me! Start the car!”

“Why are you acting like a zombie again—”

No time for nonsense. We quickly got into the van, and Jeondohyeong skillfully started the engine.

The light. The engine noise. Zombies poured into the street and started pounding on the car. Fists banged on the windows, zombies climbed onto the hood and kicked, some even hit the windows with rocks.

Crack—!

The window cracked.

“What are you doing? Step on it!”

“Where are we going?!”

Jeondohyeong slammed the accelerator. Vroom—the car moved forward, the zombie on the hood rolled off, and the ones in front were run over. The car shook. A zombie was crushed under the wheels.

I watched the scene illuminated by the headlights.

Zombies that had been crouching surged forward like a flood. The restaurants in the food alley, as well as shops with vegetables and fruits outside, were almost pillaged to destruction.

The vigilante group? Swept away by the zombie wave. Instead, the zombies picked up their weapons.

Jeondohyeong spoke calmly.

“Should we go to the church? If things go wrong, it might just lead the zombies there.”

Of course, we should go to the church building. Where else? If we time it right, it could even be an opportunity. Leading them there was my goal anyway.

I looked in the side mirror. Zombies chasing the bright, noisy car.

“Slow down. Go slowly.”

“Huh? Why—”

“The phone works, right? We need to buy time for the church to prepare.”

Actually, I was leading the zombie wave, but I framed it nicely.

“Tell them to prepare disinfectant at the entrance and get ready for a water battle.”

I clenched my fist. Yeah, what’s this about outsourcing? I’ll lead them myself. This situation is cleaner anyway.

We headed to the church, bringing hope to unite the Hope Community.

 

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