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I turned on my phone to check the time. There was a lot to do. I had to kill someone who wanted to buy lettuce for the safety of Villa Street, and I also had to deal with a wicked person who dared to leak the lettuce.

“Weeds…? You think you can pull me out?”

The utterly wicked person who had tried to leak the lettuce for his own benefit muttered blankly. He looked around, but the atmosphere wasn’t good.

The uncle, who stood still like a statue, lost in thought; me, fixing my hammer; and the rice seller, banging the asphalt road with a metal rod.

No matter how you looked at it, the situation wasn’t going to end well. If it did, I wouldn’t just stand by. I thought slowly.

‘Should I kill him here? Let the uncle execute him? Or make him a cross?’

Killing him was certain, but I was pondering how to do it.

Though he was insensitive to group crises, he seemed sensitive to personal ones. The lettuce leaker forced a smile and waved his hand.

“I was wrong. This won’t happen again. And it’s not a big deal, right? Trading a few lettuce leaves for cigarettes and alcohol is profitable.”

He made excuses. He desperately pleaded with the uncle and reached out to the person holding the rice bag.

Under the faint moonlight, I saw his trembling hand. His voice trembled too.

“I know it’s dangerous. That’s why I was going to say I got it from Hope Community. They farm there too. If you think about the source of the lettuce, you’d think of them first. This isn’t enough to kick me out, right?”

No one answered. Only the wicked lettuce leaker’s words continued.

“It’s just… life is hard. The world is like this, so I relied on alcohol and cigarettes.”

He seemed to fear being expelled from the decent group of Villa Street and having to survive without any resources.

A few seconds later, the person holding the rice bag spoke softly.

“It seems like you’ve reflected a lot. How about ending it here? We stopped it beforehand, and you won’t do it again, right?”

“Right. I really won’t think about selling lettuce again.”

The lettuce leaker, happy that someone was helping him.

But the uncle and I remained silent. We knew better than anyone that this couldn’t end like this.

If we let it go without punishment, someone else would make the same mistake. Ambiguous punishment isn’t possible either. It would create resentment and turn them into potential betrayers.

The only possible punishment is execution.

I calmly asked the uncle, “What should we do?”

“Ha…”

Was he unable to take the final step to let go of his obsession? A sigh filled with anguish. He pressed his head with one hand, as if it hurt.

To ease the uncle’s pain, I rambled on.

“If this had gone wrong, we’d all be dead. The farm would be exposed, hundreds would come to pillage, the police or archery clubs would covet it, and all our stored resources would be plundered.”

This person isn’t just a lettuce leaker. He’s an internal enemy trying to destroy the Villa Street group. A killer trying to murder familiar fellow survivors. A weed that kills others to survive alone.

If left alone, he’d grow like a poisonous mushroom and kill us all. It’s too terrifying. He must be eliminated.

From that perspective, the rice seller scraped the road with his rod.

“Isn’t that a bit extreme?”

“But it’s something that could easily happen. And if it does, there’s no stopping it.”

With the uncle in the middle, the rice seller and I conversed. The uncle listened quietly, then suddenly stepped toward me, pulling a metal pipe over his shoulder.

“…It’s a simple matter.”

Dark clouds approached, obscuring the moonlight. Thick darkness covered everyone’s faces.

Soon after, the sound of a blunt weapon cutting through the air was heard, followed by a dull thud. Crack, the sound of bones breaking, and a long scream.

“Ahhh! My leg!”

Did he hit his leg? Not killing him now? The sound of the lettuce leaker rolling on the ground was heard. Then, as the dark clouds passed, moonlight shone down.

The uncle’s eyes reflected the moonlight like realization. He slung the metal pipe over his shoulder and spoke to the rice seller.

“Lock this guy in an empty house. I have some tissues left. I’ll give them to you, so let’s postpone today’s deal.”

“If you give me tissues… But this is a bit…”

The rice seller looked down at the screaming lettuce leaker. It seemed like he thought the punishment was excessive. In a world where proper treatment isn’t possible, he’d likely die slowly.

“There’s an empty house on the second floor of Peace Villa. Use that.”

After informing him of the corpse storage house, I recalled the uncle’s suspicious nature.

‘What’s his intention? What’s he thinking?’

I guided it, but I don’t know the result. He’s so paranoid that it’s hard to predict his train of thought.

Then the uncle brushed past me and said bluntly, “Let’s go kill the person who wanted to buy lettuce. We need to eliminate threats to the street.”

“…Yes.”

After checking the time, I followed him to the meeting place.

***

We walked in silence. The moonlight revealed a ruined road. The road was even more of a mess due to occasional rain showers. There were many burst trash bags, likely due to dogs or cats, and traces of excrement or bloodstains.

The uncle, who had been walking silently, perhaps cautious of robbers, muttered as if talking to himself.

“Maybe my dream was too big. Cooperating with people I barely know to survive… It’s impossible. It’s beyond my ability.”

“You’ve done well so far.”

Crunch, stepping on trash.

The uncle faintly shook his head.

“No. What I’ve done so far could have been done by anyone. It was possible because you or Jeondohyeong gave the idea of indoor farming.”

Well. Anyway, he probably organized a small group.

But the uncle didn’t seem to think so, swinging the metal pipe in the air as he continued.

“From now on, I’ll do what’s within my ability.”

“How do you mean?”

I asked out of curiosity. How had he changed? Had he changed in a way that would help me? Eliminating street people for me?

The uncle stomped on the scattered trash and said lightly.

“I learned from dealing with the apartment guys. I had to think about killing. It’s the same with street people. If I kill anyone suspicious or a threat to the group, only those I can trust will remain.”

“Ah.”

Got it. I smirked, looking at the back of the uncle’s head.

There’s the knife to kill Villa Street people. Suspicion? Danger? I can create that. Thinking that way, the reason he only broke the leg instead of killing became clear.

“So, imprisoning him was also a trap? To find people who would help or try to escape him.”

“Exactly.”

Indeed. Not bad. If he had killed him on the spot, only one person would die. Using him as bait, more people could be killed.

I quickly thought. If done well, I could pick off a few more people.

Lost in our thoughts, we walked for a while.

We arrived at the meeting place. A large bus and a few delivery trucks were scattered on the road. A place where, even if we fought, we could hide and escape.

After double-checking my reliable hammer and the handgun loaded with ammunition, I looked around.

“Not here yet? Lettuce!”

“Lettuce? Lettuce!”

A voice came from behind the bus. One person? Several? Any ambush elsewhere? Maybe they just heard about selling lettuce and planned to capture us.

The handgun gave me courage. I spoke with a moderate volume.

“Where’s the stuff?”

“You show me first. Do you really have lettuce?”

“Ah, of course.”

I held up a black plastic bag and rustled it. There was nothing inside, but it looked like real lettuce.

In the end, it’s all about mindset. If I think it’s lettuce, an empty plastic bag becomes lettuce.

The other person didn’t seem to notice anything strange in my movements.

“I can’t see it…”

“Let’s get closer and see each other. We’re going to trade anyway.”

“…There’s a delivery truck on the right, right? Put it on the driver’s seat.”

“What about the cigarettes and alcohol?”

“They’re in the passenger seat of the car across the street.”

Not checking directly like this? If the stuff is fake, ah. Someone might be hiding near the car with the stuff.

I placed the inflated bag on the driver’s seat of the delivery truck and whispered to the uncle.

“Let’s take it and run.”

“Okay.”

We don’t necessarily have to kill them. Just making the lettuce deal seem like a scam is enough.

As we headed to the car with the cigarettes and alcohol, someone from the other side sneaked toward the delivery truck. I hurriedly checked the stuff first.

A heavy paper bag. Inside were bricks. They were scamming too.

“Nothing here. Let’s run.”

By then, they had seen our plastic bag. A shout erupted.

“There’s nothing! Damn it, I thought you were rich selling lettuce. Were you scammers too?”

“Same here. I thought you were well-off wanting to buy lettuce.”

We faced each other across the road for a moment. A brief tension passed, then they waved first.

“Let’s not fight among fellow scammers. Let’s part ways.”

“It’s a loss if we get hurt.”

There’s nothing to gain by fighting; we’d just die.

We cautiously stepped back, and people popped up from everywhere. The scammer gang, hiding in cars or buildings, seemed to number over five.

They were organized pillagers. Luring seemingly well-off people to capture and plunder their base.

They also watched us as they slowly retreated. The uncle and I didn’t say a word and retraced our steps.

I sighed as I walked ahead.

“It seems like we’ve managed for now… But the future is the problem. What will happen when our stored resources run out and the rainy season comes?”

“The future is the problem. People are the problem. Kwon Dain.”

I stopped at the name called from behind. Kwon Dain was the name I used at the church. Not Kim Dain, which I told the uncle.

Turning slowly, I saw the uncle holding the metal pipe as if ready to swing it. His eyes, reflecting the faint moonlight, were filled with strong suspicion.

A madman who had fallen below some psychological line smiled at me.

“Anyone suspicious must die. And you’re the most suspicious.”

Only then did my joy cool down, and I grasped the reality.

An executioner who kills and tries to kill based on suspicion. I can’t escape that blade of suspicion either. It’s incredibly unfair, but there’s room for me to look suspicious too.

 

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