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Where the wave has passed, traces remain.

The floor soaked with zombie blood, the corpses of zombies left behind, the virus brought by the zombie wave, and the people swept away by the wave.

It’s not the right situation to hold a looting meeting right away. The elders, including me, quickly started to clean up.

“The hospital is probably overflowing with patients. Anyone who knows first aid for those hit by bricks?”

“I’m not sure, but wouldn’t disinfecting and bandaging work?”

“Good. You’re the medic now.”

“Wait, I really don’t know—”

Just like how the military drags someone who can draw into mural work, we hastily made a medic.

“Let’s gather the corpses outside first! We can’t live with the virus.”

“Let’s wash away the blood with water and disinfect everything.”

We quickly cleared away the zombie corpses and blood.

“Thank you so much for coming to help.”

The evangelical elder and I bowed our heads to the neighbors who came to help in this difficult situation. Gratitude was essential.

Of course, my inner thoughts were different. I saw the knight’s suit with the large “ZERO” engraved on it. Suspicion arose.

‘Could this person be Rider Zero? The one who rejected my request and blocked me?’

As I harbored a bit of resentment and stared at the helmet, the rider took it off. Unexpectedly, a woman’s face appeared.

Short hair. A masked face. Skin glistening with sweat. She smiled brightly.

“We have to help and survive because everyone is a potential client. We work on requests, after all. If clients decrease, we starve.”

“But there’s no one else helping. It’s just your kindness.”

Exchanging pleasantries.

I, still filled with resentment and suspicion, watched the rider, and our eyes met. She tilted her head, looking slightly puzzled.

“Who is this?”

“This is Deacon Kwon. He’s in charge of safety at Hope Church, no, Hope Community. Thanks to Deacon Kwon’s well-planned strategies, we survived this wave.”

“Wow. Did you plan all this?”

The rider looked around. The remains of barricades, scattered paving stones, and traps including ropes at the entrance.

She smiled and extended her hand.

“Nice to meet you. We could learn a thing or two from this.”

“No, I’ve learned a lot too. Things like nomadic styles and protective gear.”

Gloved hands shook each other. No need to reveal suspicion.

As the rider withdrew her hand, a worried expression briefly flashed in her eyes. She looked around at the people and zombie corpses, then lowered her voice.

“This seems like a really good place… Was this wave artificial?”

“More like an accident than artificial. Why do you ask?”

The evangelical elder blinked. I felt a foreboding. Could it be? Is she really Rider Zero? Is she going to expose the request?

Indeed.

Rider Zero spoke.

“Well, we received an anonymous request recently. To bring zombies to Hope Church.”

“…The security elder is dead. So there are others targeting us.”

The evangelical elder’s eyes widened.

I calmly swallowed my anxiety. No one knows who made the request. Of course, they don’t know I’m the one who made it.

I slowly opened my mouth, wearing a tired expression and speaking in a hoarse voice.

“People are always the problem.”

Yes, people are the problem. Humans who don’t take requests or keep secrets. How could they think of exposing a request? Keeping secrets is basic.

I was already planning to steal some church resources and escape, but this will only raise suspicion. A bit of resentment grew.

‘You, confirmed.’

I firmly engraved Rider Zero’s face and suit in my mind. Scenarios of revenge without revealing my face flooded my thoughts.

Requests. Making the alarm clock ring when the rider arrives to induce a zombie attack, or pulling out the motorcycle brakes. Or, dipping zombie saliva in a gift as a thank-you for their support.

A plan to reduce the number of riders to zero, as the name Rider Zero suggests.

Around that time, the small talk between the evangelical elder and Rider Zero ended.

“Then, I’ll be going now!”

“Take some gifts with you. Let’s see, supplies elder! Give them some food or masks!”

“You don’t have to.”

“You risked your lives to help us, just take it.”

Rider Zero, who had been stretching, chuckled and showed anticipation.

The supplies elder, perhaps not wanting to deal with the corpses, quickly ran to the warehouse. I tried to console my disappointment as I watched his retreating figure.

‘Mixing zombie saliva into a water bottle isn’t feasible right now.’

If the situation were better, I would have collected zombie fluids and injected them into water bottles.

But it’s okay. There’s no need to take revenge immediately like a neighborhood whistleblower. Just remember the resentment and poke at it when the opportunity arises.

And so, where the wave had receded, the riders left with arms full of gifts, the people soaked by the wave struggled back to their daily lives, and the deep night arrived.

A perfect night for plotting.

***

A night where people, exhausted from combat and labor, snored in their sleep. The church, where people on night watch dozed off, fearing that people might suddenly turn into zombies.

Three looters secretly gathered in the pastor’s office. The dark office, with no lights on, had us sitting scattered.

Finally, a proper looting meeting was underway.

“Let’s begin the church escape meeting. The agenda is, diverting church resources and finding the right timing to escape.”

“…Suddenly? Really?”

“I wondered why you called us at this hour. What’s the problem?”

The thief elder and Jeondohyeong, who were about to die from exhaustion, grumbled. Of course, their voices were whispers, and they didn’t oppose the agenda righteously.

A looter’s attitude, where survival and profit come first.

The thief elder yawned loudly and tapped the floor.

“Before that, let’s properly introduce ourselves. We don’t even know each other’s real names or why we’re gathered.”

“Then let’s start with the elder who brought it up.”

Looking towards where the elder would be, the elder sighed deeply.

“Park Yang-gun. Used to do some thieving back in the day.”

How is a thief’s name Park Yang-gun? Not even an abbreviation for a gentleman. Did he change his name with the ambition of becoming a thief?

Well, even if it’s a lie, it’s fine. I introduced Jeondohyeong first.

“This is Jeondohyeong. A vicious electric thief who steals the nation’s electricity. As for me—”

“This is Kim Da-in, a crazy murderer. Be careful.”

We diligently introduced each other by cutting each other down, and Elder Park Yang-gun chuckled.

“A murderer, an electric thief, and a former thief. We’ve got a bunch of criminals here.”

“In this world, crime is essential to survive.”

“I’m not that bad though…”

Jeondohyeong’s grumbling about being lumped together was naturally ignored. As looters, we’re all similar humans.

Of course, there’s only one common goal worth mentioning.

“Surviving the apocalypse by any means necessary. That’s the only goal.”

“Right. But then, is there a need to leave the church?”

“True. It’s better to stick together with more people.”

That’s also true, but it’s only for a short while. To survive the apocalypse, you have to stay ahead of others.

While others build and defend bases according to the current situation, we must become post-apocalyptic scavengers and looters to stay ahead. By abandoning conscience just a bit earlier than others, we adapt faster.

I slowly explained.

“If you look at this wave—”

The danger of zombies. The siege tactics of learned zombies. Inevitable danger and loss. The danger of bases as breakwaters.

The best course is avoidance and escape.

The two grumbling looters listened intently.

“In the end, the best course is to hunker down as secretly as possible and minimize fighting zombies. In that sense, the church isn’t a great base.”

“…True. But then where do we go after leaving the church? What about food?”

Aren’t houses everywhere? I briefly doubted Elder Park Yang-gun’s statement, then thought he was testing me.

To see if I was really planning the future properly.

I spoke confidently, like a pastor.

“It’s the apocalypse. A world where destruction has come, where laws and morals are meaningless. Just break into any house, kill the owner, and take it.”

There’s no reason to buy and sell houses like in normal times. No reason to buy food with money.

I also mentioned my plan a bit.

“Of course, there’s Jeondohyeong’s camping car, and the villa building I prepared. Though it’s not fully cleaned yet.”

“Cleaning is fine. As long as there’s no virus, dirt doesn’t matter.”

Then Jeondohyeong let out a deep sigh.

“The cleaning he’s talking about. It’s not cleaning, it’s human cleaning. He hasn’t finished killing all the villa residents yet.”

“Really?”

Elder Park Yang-gun raised his voice slightly in surprise, then asked curiously.

“How did you break in?”

That’s what you’re curious about. I silently took out a taser and pulled the trigger. A blue electric spark flashed. The battery was almost dead, so the spark was weak.

“Ah. Old door locks?”

“Let’s proceed with the meeting now.”

In the darkness, the looters put their heads together and discussed ways to loot the church’s resources.

The key point is one. Take without anyone knowing who took it. Since revealing our existence makes us enemies, hiding our existence is the top priority.

After various ideas were thrown around, a plan was formed.

To do nothing.

I suggested infecting the community with the virus to collapse it and then take everything, while Elder Park Yang-gun planned to divert supplies by using the supplies elder’s position, but unexpectedly, Jeondohyeong hit the nail on the head.

Jeondohyeong spoke with a voice full of good intentions.

“If the wave is going to destroy it anyway, why not just come back after it’s destroyed and take the resources?”

“…Is that so?”

I tilted my head in thought, then countered.

“But then the church would become a zombie nest. How do we fight zombies while… Oh. Right. We don’t need to go there ourselves.”

Rider Zero.

We could request the Delivery Vigilante Group to recover the supplies. In exchange, we’d share the warehouse resources.

Of course, the Delivery Vigilante Group might take everything, but then we could attack and loot them. People are easier to kill than zombies.

The important thing is that the resources exist. It doesn’t matter whose hands they’re in.

And so, the first looting meeting concluded.

“Then let’s just escape on our own. Jeondohyeong and I can leave easily, so Elder Park Yang-gun, just find a way to slip out.”

“What do you mean slip out? This isn’t the military.”

We looters, to catch up on our lack of sleep, scurried back to the bedroom like cockroaches. To the bedroom where several people were lying down.

People snoring, people crying under blankets, people moaning as if having nightmares.

Amid all the disturbances, I diligently painted the future until I fell into a deep sleep.

***

Morning came. People scattered, carrying ramen cooked on gas burners or instant rice heated in microwaves, and I approached the evangelical elder and administrative elder, wearing a mask.

“Deacon Kwon! Not eating breakfast?”

“You need to eat to have strength. Eat a little. There’s a lot of work today, like corpse disposal.”

I shook my head. Then, as usual, I spoke lightly.

“Jeondohyeong and I are planning to leave the community.”

The two elders, busy with their chopsticks and spoons, were startled. They looked at me with wide eyes.

“What? Why?”

“Deacon Kwon. Was there something uncomfortable?”

A deep question, as if they had no idea.

I slowly explained. A plausible reason.

“Seeing that we’ve stopped the wave, I feel there’s nothing more I can do to help. I’d rather go to another vigilante group and help them. It seems better to save more people that way.”

The two elders opened their mouths slightly, then let out a faint sigh. A gaze that seemed to look at me like the pastor.

“Really… Many people survived thanks to Deacon Kwon. Thank you so much, and I hope you bring hope to others.”

“You’re not leaving empty-handed, are you? Take something! Where’s the supplies elder? Is he asleep?”

No reason to refuse when they’re offering. Whether I get it now or later is just a matter of time.

I decided to take some disinfection supplies. Also, the vigilante group list that the evangelical elder had.

“I’ll just take some disinfectant.”

“Sure, take it.”

“And, Elder. Can I get the contact information for other vigilante groups? I want to look into it myself and contact them before going.”

“Of course. Let’s see.”

The evangelical elder quickly took out his phone, and I spoke briefly.

“After you finish eating, just send it to Jeondohyeong.”

“No, I’ll send it now. Deacon Kwon. Come back anytime if it’s tough.”

“Right. The church’s defense plans were all Deacon Kwon’s suggestions.”

I silently smiled and bowed my head.

Why would I return to a doomed community? I’ll just subcontract the resource collection.

Anyway, the coincidental connection with the church ended here. Whether some of them die or not has nothing to do with me. In fact, it’s troublesome if they don’t die. I’d have to move myself.

I packed the disinfectant and finally found Jeondohyeong. Jeondohyeong was talking to Na Yae-ji.

“If it seems dangerous, just run away. Hide. If you go to the end room on the third floor—”

“Jeondohyeong! Let’s go!”

“Ah, yes!”

Jeondohyeong hurriedly ran over. And Na Yae-ji followed. Her pale face looked up at me.

“Can I come with you?”

“No, you can’t. We don’t have enough food.”

Na Yae-ji pouted, looking disappointed.

A looter dropout. There’s no reason to accept someone who doesn’t fit the small elite group. Unless they’re an expert in electricity, machinery, or medicine, someone whose only value is as zombie bait is a no.

Jeondohyeong exchanged final greetings.

“I’ll visit sometimes! See you next time!”

“Come visit often! See you later, Deacon Kwon.”

No need to see you. Maybe if I see your corpse later.

And so, I quit the group life that never suited me and returned to being a carefree looter. It’s better to move without anything to protect.

The shackles and brakes of the community were removed. I smiled refreshingly as I passed by piles of zombie corpses.

‘Zombies, do your best to bring down the community.’

I’ll attack the former church believers listed in the visitor log. A world where people and zombies each do their part, the apocalypse.

 

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