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Mr. Ho, who I had taken hostage, let out a rough voice. It was a trembling, accusatory voice, as if he was panicking.

“Are you crazy? What are you doing?”

“You guys started acting weird first.”

“What? What did we do?”

He looked genuinely wronged, but it was all an act. I couldn’t fall for it. If they were normal people, why would there be rumors to be cautious of them?

The scavenger’s initial gesture to Mr. Ho must have been a report that I came alone, and Mr. Ho’s gesture was likely a signal to kill me.

They were after my clothes, police vest, raincoat, and firearms.

“You gestured. It was a signal to kill me.”

“What kind of crazy talk is that? Why would we do that openly, keugh!”

I tightened my grip on Mr. Ho’s neck, and he coughed violently. He weakly tapped my arm and then reached for my face.

It was a clear attempt to gouge my eyes, so I had no choice but to lower my gun and shoot him in the thigh.

“Ah! You lunatic!”

“…”

What kind of lunatic? I’m the weak one here. When I nudged the flashlight on the ground with my foot, I saw a group of scavengers already armed.

The difference in numbers meant a difference in power. The iron pipes were dangerous, and the number of bows and handguns pointed at me was seriously threatening.

In a situation like this, hesitating would mean losing control and drowning in the chaos. I had to take charge.

I smirked and clicked my tongue.

“Got shot, huh? If you don’t get first aid soon, you’ll die. How about opening a path before this guy dies?”

But the scavengers’ reaction was different from what I expected. They stared at me blankly, then started chuckling. No one lowered their weapons.

The scavenger who had signaled earlier reached into his pocket and nodded.

“If he dies, that’s two corpses. Mr. Ho dies, you die. Double the loot, right?”

Are these people really devoid of any sense of camaraderie? I looked at them suspiciously, but they genuinely didn’t seem concerned about Mr. Ho. Even now, blood was streaming down his thigh as death approached.

Still, could it be an act? Could Mr. Ho still be in control? I spoke up.

“So? Does Mr. Ho think the same?”

“Do we look like a family or a community to you? We’re the kind of people who think about how much fuller our pockets will be when we see a corpse, when someone dies.”

Mr. Ho didn’t even attempt to give them orders.

That’s when I realized the true nature of this scavenger group. Individualism. There was no strong sense of belonging like in a survivor group.

They had gathered solely for the purpose of looting corpses and trading goods, and they didn’t care if their so-called leader, Mr. Ho, died.

To them, the living and the dead might seem the same—just objects to loot.

They’re truly impressive pillagers. I slowly opened my mouth.

“Have you heard about the survivor zones being set up lately?”

“Yeah. But there’s no need for this conversation.”

The scavengers responded indifferently. But there was room for dialogue. After all, they’re pillagers.

“We’re looking for people to either oppose them or join forces to take them on. Interested?”

“Nah. You came here alone, what are you even talking about?”

A firm rejection. These people don’t think about the future. Killing me and taking my handgun seemed more important to them.

That’s when Mr. Ho weakly laughed and spoke.

“There’s no need to do more. Why do you think we’re under this bridge? This is upstream. The water that flows through the area where they’re setting up the survivor zone passes through here.”

Hearing that, a flash of insight struck me. These guys aren’t ignoring the future. They’re already preparing to leech off the survivor zone.

‘The area where the survivor zone will be established.’

A place equidistant from various groups. A place where water is easily accessible since the water supply will be cut off. Buildings with front doors, not glass doors. Areas with many rooftops suitable for installing solar panels.

Considering these conditions, I could vaguely guess where the survivor zone would be established, and I could threaten them in a different way.

The river. If I threatened to dump zombie and human corpses into the water they’d use. In exchange, they’d manage the upstream and negotiate for a share of the food.

My mouth slightly opened. Are they really planning to leech like this? Aren’t they afraid of the police?

The scavengers grumbled and waved their weapons.

“Why is a dying man talking so much?”

“You can’t talk when you’re dead, you idiots. But seriously, aren’t you going to save me? I think I’m going to die.”

In the apocalypse, even water can be a weapon, I realized with a moment of awe.

I narrowed my eyes and looked at the scavengers.

‘Can I escape without getting hurt?’

I didn’t trust the option of resolving things through words without a fight. I couldn’t shake the suspicion that arrows and bullets would fly the moment I released the hostage.

It seemed better to kill Mr. Ho here and use his body as a shield to escape.

“…”

“…”

An awkward silence fell. The blood flowing from Mr. Ho soaked his pants like sand in an hourglass.

In this disadvantageous situation, I couldn’t shoot first, and they couldn’t act either, wary of my handgun.

The only sound was Mr. Ho’s rough breathing.

Tap, tap. The sound of raindrops falling. The light rain quickly turned into a heavy downpour. The sound of rain hitting the world.

The scavengers’ attention scattered.

“Ah, rain again?”

“We need to move quickly.”

This was my chance. I slowly dragged Mr. Ho toward the edge of the bridge. Threats spilled from my mouth.

“If you keep this up, the boxes of resources you’ve stacked might just wash away. You’ll lose more than you’ll gain by killing me. Let’s part ways here.”

“Really?”

The scavengers’ eyes turned back to me. Some started moving the boxes as if they couldn’t see me.

I aimed my gun at them.

“There’s more than one gun here. They’re all loaded with lethal rounds. Shall we go all the way?”

If it really came to that, I could cause significant damage alone. I had two shields: Mr. Ho and the police vest.

If they really tried to kill me, I wouldn’t stay still. As long as I had a finger on the trigger, I’d fire every bullet.

‘If I’m going to die, I’ll take as many as I can with me.’

The scavengers seemed to glance at me briefly, and Mr. Ho turned his head slightly to look at me, then shook his head.

“Guys, stop. This guy’s not normal either.”

“Ah, seriously… Go. Leave Mr. Ho.”

“I’ll take him with me until we’re on the bridge.”

Why would I let go of my shield? I’d only release him once we were up there.

The scavengers’ eyes flashed. A menacing voice came out.

“Fine. But if you kill Mr. Ho, you’re dead too.”

“Deal.”

With that, I backed away, stepping off the bridge and onto the road, then released Mr. Ho. He slumped down and shouted angrily.

“Bring bandages and antibiotics! If you have disinfectant, bring that too! You idiots, if bacteria get into the wound, what are you going to do? You brought me all the way here.”

I glanced at the back of Mr. Ho’s head and briefly put my finger on the trigger, then quickly turned away.

***

Perhaps because I got soaked in the rain at night, my condition wasn’t great. Even though it was daytime, the house was dark from the rain. I called Sajihyeok and spoke weakly.

“How are people reacting?”

“Well, it’s a bit ambiguous.”

Sajihyeok, who had been spreading rumors in places like streetlights and markets, scratched his head.

“There aren’t many people with complaints. In fact, more people are asking how they can get in, or how to bring their families.”

I closed my eyes.

‘Hope…’

The pastor of Hope Church used hope as a tool to gather people. The hope of defeating the virus, the hope of surviving by joining the church. He moved people with that hope.

The survivor zone was similar. It was just a group of survivors coming together to live, but that too was hope. The hope of living safely. It’s a light that draws people in.

I opened my eyes and sighed before asking.

“Isn’t there anyone complaining about being left out while they live alone?”

“That was my mistake. The world is like this now. It’s become normal for people to live only for themselves.”

Right. In a normal world, this kind of framing wouldn’t work, but in times like these, it’s hard to pull off.

This world is truly messed up. The pillagers I tried to gather are all dead, and the scavengers are just preparing to leech.

Then, Jeondohyeong burst in and plopped down in front of us.

Jeondohyeong, who seemed to have some bad news, sighed deeply. I asked him.

“What’s wrong? Did you go to the Hope Community? Did you fight with your girlfriend?”

“We did fight a bit. But that’s not the problem. They’re not making the survivor zone.”

I blinked. Suddenly? Just like that?

“Why?”

“The alliance itself just fell apart. They were arguing about this and that, then had a big fight.”

Jeondohyeong swung his fist. The story continued.

They fought over where to establish the survivor zone, argued over who would have a say in the zone’s operations, debated how to manage resources….

The armory is important, the operating room is important, it has to be a place where solar panels can be installed, what about water, people with firearms should have a say, can you live without electricity, even in an alliance, resources can’t be shared, and so on.

The biggest problem was the weather.

“It’s typhoon season now. Setting up a survivor zone and moving in doesn’t make sense.”

I listened to this in a daze, then let out a hollow laugh. A strange sense of joy bubbled up.

Why? It’s annoying to lose alone, but it’s fun when everyone loses together. Just as I failed to gather pillagers, they failed to form an alliance.

Sajihyeok’s muttering reached my ears.

“In a world where cooperation is necessary to survive….”

 

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