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The church building I visited after a long time had transformed into something resembling a fortress. I could feel the atmosphere from the entrance itself.

People were keeping watch from the rooftop. Several cars were tightly parked against the church building, functioning like a barrier, and electric lanterns hung from the second-floor windows to provide light during blackouts.

It’s called a church, but it’s more like a war fortress. It would take an army to breach it, and regular zombies probably wouldn’t even dare to approach.

Park Yang-gun quickly scanned the building and shook his head.

“Wow. I wouldn’t even think of stealing here. Can you see how they’ve blocked all the first-floor windows?”

“…I see.”

The glass windows were broken, but something had been reinforced from the inside. At a glance, it looked like they had ripped off doors to block the windows.

I couldn’t help but be impressed. At the same time, I noticed a weakness.

‘A closed-off building that’s hard to enter from the outside. If zombies break out inside, escaping would be tough too.’

In other words, it’s a sealed chamber. Tightly shut so nothing from the outside can get in, but also hard to get out. Vulnerable not just to infectious diseases but also to fires.

“I’m here!”

At that moment, Jeondohyeong excitedly waved and approached. The car window blocking the entrance rolled down, revealing a familiar face.

“Jeondohyeong’s here. Did you come to see Yae-ji?”

The face of a patient I’d seen at the hospital. The patient reacted as if a friend had arrived, suggesting Jeondohyeong visited often. Jeondohyeong spoke loudly.

“Deacon Kwon and the Supplies Elder are here too.”

“Hello! Oh, let me open the way for you.”

Vroom—

The car with its engine running moved forward. Instead of the glass windows that had been shattered during a previous zombie wave, I could see a makeshift door welded from car parts opening.

‘…Why does this building feel so different?’

It’s a real apocalypse stronghold. While other places are still ordinary buildings, this one is overflowing with a recycled aesthetic.

True to a group carrying on the pastor’s legacy, they’re always one step ahead, preparing for anything. If the pastor were still alive and well, this place would probably have the infectious zeal of a cult.

The patient stuck their head out the window and pointed upward.

“The elders are probably gathered in the third-floor office. Take a break before you go.”

“Yes, take care.”

And so, we slowly made our way up the church building. Jeondohyeong split off on the second floor.

“I’m going to see Yae-ji.”

He walked off with a light, excited step.

“…Is that guy in love? Must be nice to be young.”

While Park Yang-gun made casual remarks, I greeted each member of the community I hadn’t seen in a while as we moved along.

“Ah, Deacon Kwon! You’re here?”

“Yes, hello. How have you been?”

Their faces were bright. They were united by a sense of belonging and camaraderie.

As I passed by, I noticed the ceilings and windowsills inside the rooms were lined with PET bottle planters, with fresh sprouts growing.

It made me feel oddly uncomfortable.

“They’re doing really well.”

It wasn’t like this when we were here. Under the pastor’s leadership, there was a fanatical atmosphere, strange disruptions causing unease, and after the pastor passed, a gloomy mood.

We arrived at the office. Knock knock, the door opened.

The Evangelical Elder, the Administrative Elder, and a rough-looking man.

“Deacon Kwon? Elder Park is here too? Did you come to visit?”

“Long time no see, Deacon Kwon.”

After a brief exchange of greetings among familiar faces, the Evangelical Elder introduced the unfamiliar man and us, pointing to each one.

“This is the new Security Elder. He was active in the metalworkers’ union and has been a great help. This is Deacon Kwon, who was previously in charge of safety, and Park Yang-gun, who handled supplies—”

Of course. A metalworkers’ union veteran who could wage a siege in modern times.

So, what should I do with the Hope Community? My mind was racing.

It’s not easy to cause trouble now. The people are too united, and if something strange happens right after we return, it would look suspicious.

But setting a fire and running away doesn’t benefit me either. This community isn’t a threat to me.

‘A scenario where I benefit….’

Destroying them and taking the church’s resources is a bit ambiguous. I’m not short on resources right now. It’s enough to put them on the pillaging list for later.

‘For now, it’s best to keep them as a friendly ally.’

A community like this must stockpile a lot of resources to sustain itself. Let them gather resources diligently for me until the day they collapse.

After some thought, I extended a gloved hand politely.

“Nice to meet you. I didn’t think you could fortify the place to this extent. Impressive.”

“…What’s with the handshake? Forget it.”

The gruff Security Elder rudely refused. Is he socially inept? If so, maybe I could join and just get rid of him. His knowledge is probably drained anyway, so his value has dropped—

For a moment, I saw the exciting possibility of causing chaos, but I held back.

The atmosphere I seek for my pillager group is about enjoying the pillaging, not becoming addicted to it and losing sight of reason. Pillaging is just the best means, not the goal.

“Haha. The Security Elder is quite unique.”

“He’s like a craftsman. I like it.”

Responding amiably to the Evangelical Elder’s mediation, I officially began my social interactions.

“How have you been? The waves have been frequent lately.”

“They do invade occasionally, but we’re holding up.”

Alliances are important. Communities have their own advantages. Numbers can’t be ignored. If I ever need to pillage on a large scale or take action, I should leave some goodwill for cooperation.

***

The ultimate form of pillaging. Pillage people’s hearts, pillage their labor. I faithfully followed the vision the pastor showed us.

“You didn’t have to go this far.”

After learning the Molotov cocktail recipe and how to rip off car hoods and doors, we carried an armful of gifts and expressed our gratitude. We gained weapons that were made in excess.

Two slingshots made from thin pipes and tight rubber bands, and a few slingshot bolts.

Honestly, they’re not great weapons. The accuracy and power are lacking.

The Evangelical Elder spoke in a friendly tone.

“You’re not outsiders. Deacon Kwon, the safety position is still open. You’re welcome to return anytime.”

“Did you leave my spot open?”

When Park Yang-gun asked, sounding a bit sulky, the Administrative Elder laughed. He pointed at the people.

“With this many people, we can’t leave the supplies position empty! But if you’re starving, come back.”

Meanwhile, Jeondohyeong was holding Na Yae-ji’s hand, chatting innocently, and I felt the atmosphere of the Hope Community one last time.

A small community content with just surviving without big goals. They’ve armed and prepared themselves somehow, but the possibility of growing into a large group is slim.

‘I don’t need to eliminate them myself. On the contrary, they have value to be used.’

Unintentionally, we’ve built a good relationship with this group. They’ll diligently stockpile resources for me, and I can borrow their manpower if needed.

I bowed my head.

“Let’s meet again alive.”

“Yes, let’s meet alive.”

And so, we exchanged farewells and headed back to the villa.

***

On the way back to the villa, Park Yang-gun kept looking back, perhaps swayed by the seemingly perfect Hope Community.

“Are we really not going back? No matter how I think about it, isn’t that place safer?”

“No. We’re safer.”

I stated firmly. I truly believed that.

Zombie waves? Unlike the church, which gets attacked by less-experienced zombies, we don’t fight at all. The first floor of the villa is empty, and of course, there’s no food, so the zombies ignore it.

No matter how well-armed you are, you’re not safer than those who don’t fight.

And a completely sealed building…

“If a fire breaks out, everyone dies. They’re also vulnerable to viruses because of group living.”

In terms of virus prevention, we were more thorough. One person per house. We ate, washed, and slept separately. We wore masks when we met.

I explained my thoughts step by step, and suddenly Jeondohyeong’s hands started trembling.

“By any chance… are you planning to virus-terrorize or set fire to the church? You’re not, right?”

“….”

Even Park Yang-gun looked at me curiously.

“I’ve thought about it, but why? We have enough resources.”

I don’t have any plans to pillage recklessly yet. Even if I did, setting fires is a no-go. If a fire spreads out of control, it’s unstoppable.

Most importantly, you can’t recover anything from a burned-out place. Arson should only be used when you really want to kill the other side.

“Anyway, let’s hunker down in the villa until our food runs out. There’s no need to do anything more in this situation.”

It’s a nomadic style. When there’s no grass left for the animals to graze, they move. We decided to wait in the villa until our food supplies dwindled.

Waiting for the day we’d pillage, we hunkered down in the villa.

***

Time passed as we waited. We watched our food supplies shrink as we ate, waiting for the day we’d go out to pillage, while others in the world waited for the day a cure would be developed.

The PET bottle planters Jeondohyeong and I clumsily made were rotting with onions and green onions, and I blankly stared at the calendar.

‘How many days since the zombie outbreak?’

Enough time had passed that counting the days felt tedious.

I looked out the window.

Even during the day, there were many zombies. Zombies had started to dominate even the bright daylight, as people stayed holed up inside.

With human activity dwindling, the world felt overrun by zombies, more than their actual numbers.

‘Dominoes….’

The dominoes were falling.

The city was dying quickly. Cars on the roads became rare as logistics dried up, and corpses and filth rotted in the streets, feeding weeds and wild animals that thrived in the corpse-filled city.

Most of all, the zombie hordes moved like packs of wild dogs.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Even through the mask, the stench of decay seemed to reach my nose.

Then, beep beep beep, the sound of the door lock opening.

“Why did you call?”

“Probably about food, you idiot.”

A reliable member of the pillager group.

I turned from the window. A faint laugh escaped my lips.

“It’s time to pillage.”

We still had plenty of rice. Soy sauce, salt, and gochujang were also abundant.

But other things were lacking. We’d eaten all the tuna and spam, and even the side dishes from others’ refrigerators.

We were short on fruits, meat, and vegetables. You need a balanced diet to stay healthy.

“We’re short on side dishes. We can’t just eat soy sauce and kimchi.”

“…So, do you have a place in mind?”

Jeondohyeong asked, his legs shaking nervously.

I slowly explained. The pillaging list I’d prepared. Other houses around the villa, Professor Kim’s apartment, the church’s visitor log.

The resources we wanted were tuna cans or spam. Or multivitamins and protein.

Suddenly, I laughed.

‘Yeah. This is what the apocalypse is about.’

Moving to find medicine, guns, food, fuel, or family. Whatever it is, moving to fill a void is what the apocalypse is about.

We set out to pillage to prevent a serious nutrient deficiency.

 

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