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A suspicious neighbor moved in. Sajihyeok, who arrived with only a heavy bag, worked diligently as if he genuinely intended to settle down in Villa Street.

Whenever there was physical work to be done, he was the first to step up and sweat it out. If people complained about difficulties, he would roll up his sleeves and try to help, always greeting others with a friendly voice.

However, the people of Villa Street didn’t easily open their hearts to him.

“That guy, his words are subtly unsettling.”

“He works hard, but he’s not very good at it. As long as he’s not in the way, it’s fine.”

His way of speaking, which seemed to insult people indirectly, and his lackluster results despite his hard work didn’t help. Above all, their experience of being greatly deceived by some wicked apartment dwellers made them suspicious and watchful. It was as if an invisible wall had been erected between Sajihyeok and the people of Villa Street.

Yet, through Sajihyeok’s persistent efforts to break down that wall, he gradually began to be accepted by us.

“I looked him up in the news. He used to be a big-shot investor. When would he have ever done this kind of labor?”

“He’s probably not a scammer. Who would send someone like that as a scammer?”

Even the most cautious people gave him a minimum level of trust after investigating his background.

“Mr. Sajihyeok, since you’ve worked hard, take this. It’s instant rice and spam.”

“Wow! This is my first time doing physical labor, but it feels rewarding and good! I never even went to the military. Spam isn’t as good as beef, but in these times, what can you do? You gotta eat what you can.”

“…Then don’t eat the spam! Go find some beef to eat!”

In any case, Sajihyeok blended in as a slightly clumsy neighbor.

Of course, our pillager members were different.

Based on their experience in Hope Community, Park Yang-gun and Jeondohyeong, who were in charge of farming, looked at him with suspicion.

The members gathered at my place for the first time in a while. Park Yang-gun, with dirt on his hands, shook his head.

“How can you trust someone who’s all talk? All he does is brag about how great he was. His face doesn’t look good either.”

Jeondohyeong frowned even more blatantly, grumbling with palpable hatred.

“That guy’s a scammer. The way he talks is exactly like a scammer. The people who came after my parents passed away to claim the inheritance, the people I met while trading stocks—they all had that vibe.”

“Right. His name is Sajihyeok, for crying out loud. He’s definitely a scammer.”

After observing Sajihyeok’s actions, I confidently declared, convinced he was just a simpleton.

As expected, I wasn’t wrong. Judging by the impression his name gives is the right way to go.

But the two members looked at me incredulously.

“Judging someone by their name? Not even by their face?”

“That’s a bit…”

What? People who value names more than anyone else are dismissing my judgment? They criticize people based on faces and vibes, which are just as baseless? If anything, I’m the rational one here!

I opened my mouth to retort but ended up sighing deeply. There’s no need to argue over something so childish. It’s pointless.

I quickly changed the subject.

In this harsh world, Jeondohyeong still diligently visits Hope Community to see his girlfriend.

“How’s Hope Community doing? Is the relationship going well?”

“Ah, why are you asking about my love life…”

Jeondohyeong blushed, seemingly embarrassed, but his face darkened slightly as he talked about the community.

“Hope Community is doing really well. They clashed with the police station last time, and the police backed off.”

“…The police?”

Honestly, isn’t the police station the strongest group in this area? Firearms, bulletproof vests. They probably don’t lack numbers either.

But Jeondohyeong vividly described the clash as if he had seen it himself.

Shields made from car doors and hoods, smoke bombs, slingshots that kill people, long spears, orderly formations. They even welded shields onto cars to make makeshift armored vehicles.

It was truly apocalyptic…

I gaped in awe.

While we were clumsily bickering, the real strong ones were waging actual wars…

But it wasn’t without its problems.

“They couldn’t completely block the virus, so occasionally one or two people turn into zombies. Yeji has been under a lot of stress, always crying and saying she’s scared, that she’s going to die…”

I’m not interested in other people’s love lives. What caught my attention were the downsides of communal living.

‘As expected, group living makes you vulnerable to the virus. It’s clear that they’ll collapse because of the virus someday. For real.’

This isn’t me cursing the group I left because they’re doing well. This is a rational, logical, and scientific prediction.

At that point, we ran out of things to talk about.

“Well, sleep tight. We have work to do tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.”

“Alright. Boil some water and be careful of the virus.”

The members left.

Left alone, I prepared thoroughly. I hid hammers, handguns, water guns, and tasers around my sleeping area, hung small bells on the windows, blocked the door with a chair, and then went to sleep.

***

The world, somewhat progressed into the apocalypse, was divided by space. The concept of territories. Many people created territories centered around residences with steel front doors, while many zombies gathered in commercial buildings or public facilities.

Places like PC rooms, cafes, subways, restaurants, convenience stores, and commercial buildings were easily accessible to people, making them natural zombie strongholds.

Glass doors are easily broken, after all. And stairs are a must.

Anyway, Villa Street was surprisingly safe.

Safe enough for us to work openly on the streets.

“Let’s make Villa Street safe!”

We block off our territory, Villa Street. To make it annoying for both zombies and people to approach.

“One, two, three!”

People chanted numbers as they pushed parked cars. The goal was to use the cars as barriers to block the road.

Some cars had their handbrakes on, but we could just break the windows and release them. If the steering wheel was locked and the direction was unclear, we left them and moved cars that could be started with the keys we collected.

The sounds of cars slowly moving, people exerting themselves, and sluggish driving filled the street.

On the sidewalks, other people were busy moving around.

“Tie everything from here to there.”

People holding red ropes tied knots around trees, streetlights, first-floor villa windows, and the window frames of parked cars, covering the sidewalks with ropes.

Straight, diagonal, crisscrossed, overlapping.

Making it difficult just to walk down the street. From above, it looked like a spider’s web.

I also worked among them. I hung the “POLICE LINE – DO NOT CROSS” tape I got from my police friend ominously around the street. At the outer entrances of Villa Street, broken first-floor windows, and the corpse of a scammer.

Then, a timid voice came from somewhere.

“Uh, excuse me, neighbors. Could you untie this for me?”

I turned my head to see Sajihyeok. He must have been working with the police line tape I gave him, but somehow managed to tie up his own arms and legs.

He had simply been attaching the tape by himself and ended up tying himself up.

“Everyone?”

As Sajihyeok hopped over, the people around him sighed deeply, as if they were used to it, and muttered complaints.

“Clumsy guy. How do you even get tangled in tape…”

“Just go farm or, no, cut PET bottles and slice your fingers. Ugh. Let’s just do the job properly.”

Still, they went over and untied him. Thanks to Sajihyeok’s efforts, he had blended in well.

But I narrowed my eyes and glared at him.

‘Is he a spy?’

A spy who lowers the group’s work efficiency and wastes resources? The resources he just wasted alone are precious tape I got from my police friend. Several meters of it.

This is a serious resource loss. Even an elderly farmer would be more useful.

I swung my hammer aimlessly, lost in thought. Should I deal with him? His face was somewhat ambiguous.

But then I turned my head at the muttering of an uncle who approached from behind.

“I must be crazy. Suspecting someone like that of being a scammer.”

“…Couldn’t he be a spy?”

“Him?”

The uncle weakly pointed his finger. At the end of it was Sajihyeok, smiling and thanking everyone before going back to work, only to trip over a rope.

“Ah! My glasses!”

He looked pitiful, fumbling around on the ground for his fallen glasses.

“That guy wouldn’t even listen if he said something. We wouldn’t even include him in important meetings. Scammers need someone influential to pull off their schemes.”

I pondered and then nodded.

This seems like the uncle’s area of expertise, so I should trust the expert.

Just as I was trying to hide my unease and leave a little suspicion, the workers started looking toward the far end of the street.

A person was approaching from beyond the street, avoiding the ropes.

And when Sajihyeok saw that person, his face turned pale.

***

He was a filthy man. His disheveled hair was matted, and his tattered clothes were covered in blood and dust.

In one hand, he carried an oil barrel, and in the other, a lit phone, faintly showing what looked like someone’s photo.

“Excuse me while you’re working. Have you seen this person? Ah, here.”

He politely asked the workers something while showing them his phone, then suddenly shook his body and laughed.

“Haha. So this is where you’ve been hiding. Ah, there he is. Sajihyeok, you scammer bastard!”

His shout echoed loudly.

The workers looked at each other in confusion, then turned their gaze to Sajihyeok.

Sajihyeok trembled. So much so that I wondered if his cracked glasses would fall off. He unconsciously stepped back, only to trip over a rope and fall backward.

Even as he fell, he used his hands to push himself back, crawling away.

“No, that’s not it.”

“What? Investment in a quarantine safety zone? You heard information from a government official? Investors get priority residence? That nonsense!”

The filthy man’s phone flew through the ropes and landed at Sajihyeok’s feet. There was a photo of some investment briefing.

A clean-cut Sajihyeok confidently presenting.

The situation became clear. Sajihyeok was a criminal, and the filthy man was the victim.

At that moment, I clenched my fist.

‘He really is a scammer!’

No wonder his name gave off scammer vibes. The subtle discomfort I felt about Sajihyeok’s face instantly turned into goodwill.

A merchant who sells people’s hopes and greed, a scammer who skillfully manipulates people’s hearts, a pillager who stole people’s money even before the apocalypse and now exploits it.

I have to admit it.

“You, stay right there!”

As the victim crouched and approached, avoiding the ropes, the people of Villa Street tried to stop him. After all, he was still a neighbor, and more importantly, the victim’s weapon was dangerous.

“First, put down that oil barrel—”

“Get out of the way!”

There was no time to stop him. The victim quickly poured out the oil barrel. A beautiful, rainbow-like liquid spread across the street. He also doused himself in oil.

He pulled out a lighter as if he had practiced this move dozens of times. A crazed look burned in his eyes.

“I just need to kill that bastard. So move.”

“No…”

The Villa Street people were at a loss. Even the uncle seemed shocked.

“A scammer? Him? Am I that bad at judging people? If he were a scammer… Suspicion. We need to be suspicious. Always.”

Sajihyeok, who had been bowing his head, slowly stood up. A bitter voice came out.

“Everyone, please step aside. It’s my fault, so I’ll take responsibility.”

“Yeah, you should take responsibility! I trusted your words and waited, and my daughter, my wife turned into zombies! I should’ve just bought a villa on an island instead of investing in you—”

There’s a story here. I wrote a scenario with him as the protagonist.

A world overrun by the zombie virus.

Desperate to find a way to survive, Sajihyeok approaches him with the hope of a quarantine safety zone.

But it was a scam, and in the meantime, his family turned into zombies and collapsed.

Who should he direct his anger at? The chairman? He’s overseas, and even if I used a cursed doll, the chairman wouldn’t be affected by such things.

In the end, it’s Sajihyeok. He sold false hope, so the responsibility for the collapse of that hope lies entirely with him. That’s why the victim, holding Sajihyeok’s photo and an oil barrel, wandered through dangerous streets to track him down.

Fighting zombies, fighting robbers, fighting vicious groups.

‘If he sets himself on fire here and burns to death with Sajihyeok, it would be a decent ending.’

Unfortunately, this is reality, and fire is too dangerous. Plus, Sajihyeok is a useful talent.

I held my breath and moved stealthily. Carefully positioning myself in the victim’s blind spot, I approached quietly.

People had already gathered around the victim and Sajihyeok, so the victim didn’t notice me.

“Did you feel at ease running away? Did you think I wouldn’t catch up?”

The victim grabbed Sajihyeok’s collar with his oil-soaked hand. As he shook him roughly, Sajihyeok, who had his eyes tightly shut, swayed back and forth.

I stood in a suitable position and glanced around. Jeondohyeong, who made eye contact with me, had a look that said, “That guy’s at it again,” while Park Yang-gun had a look that said, “Physiognomy is science.”

The uncle also nodded slightly, as if he knew what I was about to do.

“Speak, you damn bastard!”

I twisted my upper body. I pulled the hammer back. The target was the crown of his head. In martial arts terms, it’s called the “Heavenly Spirit Point.” One hit to knock him out. I couldn’t give him a chance to light the lighter.

If the fire spreads wrong, the entire Villa Street could burn. The ropes would act as conduits, spreading the fire in all directions. All my resources would be gone.

“I was wrong—”

At that moment, Sajihyeok opened his eyes, saw me, and shouted in horror.

“No, behind you—”

*Thud!*

It hit perfectly. The most satisfying hammer strike I’ve ever made.

The arson threat collapsed. I quickly took the lighter from his hand, crouched down, and hit his head a few more times before standing up.

“Let’s clear the ropes, shall we? They’re too vulnerable to fire.”

Looking back, those ropes weren’t obstacles—they were fuses.

 

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