Marauder of the Apocalypse

"You have a police friend?"

The uncle's eyes widened. The police these days are not really police. The weak police have already been hunted down and become treasure goblins, and the surviving police have become gangs filled with malice.

Having connections with such police would be worth showing off.

I looked around at the people nearby one by one. The atmosphere had already shifted towards me. They were focused on me.

"I can even get a police uniform. I can probably enter the apartment complex without any interference. I can also open the doors."

The people leaned towards me with a cold expression, but they still gave me looks of denial and doubt, not yet desperate.

"But there will be a lot of people in the apartment complex. What if they retaliate?"

Is he someone who has been holed up safely in his home? Doesn't feel like an apocalypse survivor type.

"Then will you just keep getting attacked? Even if the apartment people come in, burn down the villa neighborhood, kill people, and loot?"

I looked at the uncle, asking him to help me out a bit, and the uncle, though confused, responded reflexively.

"Didn't I say earlier? Next time won't end like this."

"Offense is the best defense. I have a plan. Just listen first."

I quickly explained the scenario before the atmosphere turned suspicious. I had polished the scenario using information I had gathered from the internet, making it plausible enough for them to act on.

"We just need to invade the management office. That's the control tower of the apartment complex."

The internet still occasionally cuts out, but SNS is still running, and I've been spying on some of the apartment complex residents' SNS to gather information.

The management office is the control tower. They broadcast warnings if a zombie wave is approaching or if zombies appear in the elevators.

They also broadcast announcements to gather people when they need to go out in a group.

We can take over those broadcasts.

"Some people will set a fire big enough to make smoke on the apartment rooftop, and some people will broadcast the fire evacuation announcement from the management office. And when the apartment people come out?"

I held up a few fingers and folded them one by one.

"We can run them over with cars, or time it to lure in a zombie wave. Or we can capture a few zombies and extract their saliva to make water guns."

"Huh? That far?"

The people looked at me with a sense of alarm and disgust. It seems that the act of getting their hands bloody is still troubling their conscience.

Or maybe they have other intentions.

The uncle, who had been rolling his eyes, suddenly clenched his fist and stood up, gesturing around.

"The plan is good, but let's do it a different way. Driving the apartment complex people out is, well, peaceful? As the villa youth said."

His outstretched hand swept across the area, beyond the villa neighborhood to the surrounding neighborhoods.

"I'm sure there are more than a few people who have seen the apartment people's violence. If we gather those people, we'll have more numbers than the apartment people."

Does the uncle's suggestion appeal to him more? The people's focus shifts back to the uncle.

It's understandable. After all, humans are social animals, so they feel the greatest sense of security in numbers. In that sense, he seems to want to increase his allies, even if it means sharing the spoils, rather than just having the lacking people from the villa neighborhood step up.

I briefly saw the uncle. My thoughts were more scattered than expected.

'I'll use my words to gather more people.'

Even in this small meeting, there is a whiff of political maneuvering as they try to take control and check me.

"You don't need to go as far as doing something so heinous. Just gathering a lot of people and storming the apartment will avoid a bloody incident."

I could continue the war of words here and play politics, but I respectfully step back and keep my mouth shut.

It's fine. I'm not the type to be obsessed with the leader position, and apartment looting isn't my sole goal. As long as the villa neighborhood people step aside.

"Then I'll go gather some people. Let's set a date as the plan progresses!"

That's how the villa neighborhood people's meeting ended. As I wanted.

***

"...What do you want me to do?"

Reporting the meeting results to my fellow looters. Jeon Do-hyeong blinked his eyes as if doubting his ears.

I slowly repeated myself.

"On the day the villa neighborhood people go to raid the apartment, you and Uncle Park-yang should go around the other villa houses. Mix the zombie saliva into cups or water."

Was it from a mafia movie? There's a saying like that. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.

Interpreting it by turning the perspective, the nearby villa neighborhood neighbors are the enemies, aren't they?

"Whether it's the apartment people or the villa neighborhood people, they'll eventually come after our villa anyway. If the situation gets worse, they'll try to share our resources too. Let's take care of them all now while we have the chance."

I didn't just incite people to raid one apartment.

I'm provoking a fight to get the opportunity to work on the potential enemies, the villa neighborhood people, as well. Tell them to leave for the apartment attack. And take advantage of that gap.

Isn't this human wisdom? One stone, two birds, one action, two benefits.

The camouflage learned from the sushi restaurant owner and the carefully cultivated malice. I, having grown a little, looked satisfied with myself.

'If I've eaten the apartment, I should eat the neighborhood too.'

This is my territory. Apartment? Villa neighborhood? I'll eliminate all competitors. Of course, if a formidable opponent comes, I'll immediately abandon the base and run away, but fortunately, the powerful group hasn't shown any interest in my side yet.

Park-yang quietly listened to the story and slowly stepped back.

"Everything's good, but how are you going to catch the zombies?"

"We don't even need to catch them. They're always drooling and walking around, aren't they? Just wipe up the saliva they leave on the floor with a handkerchief."

Aren't zombies just living virus sprayers? You can easily find the virus just by checking where the zombies have passed.

I flapped my hands enthusiastically and explained to the members, and the plan was clumsily put together.

I will participate in the villa neighborhood people's apartment raid. While the villa neighborhood is empty, the members will spread the virus.

The apocalypse has already come, and our members are ruthless criminals, so they readily nodded. Park-yang laughed.

"This is a new challenge too. How many houses can we hit in a short time? It's fun."

"As long as we don't touch the hope community..."

I also smiled contentedly, and laughter spread among our looter members. They're really looter members.

Time passed.

The uncle went around this neighborhood and that neighborhood to gather people to attack the apartment. Some people prepared iron containers like ashtrays and smoke-emitting waste paper for controlled arson.

As someone who has a police friend, I also exchanged some minor equipment.

The two police officer friends who I hadn't seen in a long time handed me a paper bag hesitantly. Inside were a police uniform and a bulletproof vest.

"We're giving it to you, but please don't wear it out. You'll just get attacked for no reason."

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They looked at the paper bag with worried eyes. They muttered in a voice close to talking to themselves.

"Don't let the back of your head be seen, avoid the sound of cars, and don't help people. They're not citizens, they're just thieves targeting our equipment. You need to be on guard."

"I'll only wear it at home. If thieves come, won't they run away when they see the police uniform?"

I then handed them a cardboard box of an appropriate size. Inside were some instant noodles and decent food with expiration dates not too far off.

The police officer friends looked at the box, and only then did they come to their senses and laugh awkwardly.

"Thank you. The people at our police station also have families, so we've been lacking food."

Well, even if there are only 5 police officers left at the station, adding their families, it could be up to 20 people. I casually asked as I passed by.

"By the way, are you not considering selling firearms? With firearms, you could probably trade for a lot of food."

At that moment, the faces of the two police officers hardened. They shook their heads vigorously.

"Absolutely not. We can't let them fall into the hands of crazy citizens."

I see. They want to prevent citizens from being armed with firearms. That's understandable. The profit from selling firearms? You could just shoot and kill people to get it, couldn't you?

It was also natural that they wanted to maintain the power of firearms solely for the police.

I hid my disappointment and waved my hand.

"But if you do consider selling firearms, please let me know. The world these days is so scary..."

"Yes, we'll do that. Be careful going home. If you wear the police uniform, be on the lookout around you."

And so the preparations for the apartment attack proceeded smoothly, and the day came.

The day of the apartment attack.

***

It was a cool evening. The night was bright with the moon, even with the power outage. People gathered on the villa street where the streetlights attracted insects.

At the forefront was an uncle with a red string tied around his head, on which was written "Unity Struggle." The red gloves, red vests, and the bloody survival competition about to unfold were all hinted at by the color red.

He raised an iron pipe.

"Alright, let's go! The people from the other neighborhoods have also agreed to come to the apartment on time!"

It felt a bit haphazard. Instead of professionally occupying the management office first and then infiltrating, they were rushing like a wave to sweep through each destination one by one.

Woooo-

People shouted.

I felt a little uneasy, but I casually waved my hand in agreement. Apartment attack? Even if it fails, the fellow looters will work on the villa street.

'It's good to think hard.'

Restraining the impulsive urge and refining the clumsy plan has its rewards.

People rushed down the street. The zombies were not a problem. They retreated at the sight of the many people.

"Aaaah!"

Occasionally, a zombie with diminished judgment would charge, but it would soon become a corpse under the clubs of the people.

It was as if the zombies had become people, and the people had become a zombie wave. This trend became more pronounced as they approached the apartment. The groups of people from other neighborhoods joined one by one.

"Welcome! The destination is the apartment management office!"

"I understand!"

The excited voices of people walking the streets without worrying about zombies. Confidence from their overwhelming numbers. Ragged breathing can be heard everywhere, and cold steel weapons scatter their icy chill.

Soon the destination came into view.

An expensive-looking apartment. The perimeter wall surrounding the apartment complex like a castle wall, and the entrance barricaded like a castle gate.

"Hurry! To the apartment management office first! The arson squad, go to the rooftops of each building!"

"Yes!"

The crowd. A human wave rushes into the apartment complex. A part of the wave has broken off.

I advance towards the management office, observing the apartment. How many apartment buildings are there? How many people live in them? I look up at the towering apartments and feel the pressure.

'A full-scale attack is really out of the question.'

There must be over a hundred people entrenched inside the reinforced concrete fortress. How can we win this?

Around there, the uncle and a few people who seemed to be representatives from the neighboring districts were the first to reach the management office. The pale electric light shines in the management office.

"Let's get in quickly!"

We step inside, passing through the already broken entrance. And we simultaneously realized that something was wrong.

"...There's no one here?"

There's no one. It's empty. We searched the supply room and various rooms, but there were no signs of life. They didn't even hide. They just don't exist.

In the room with the elevator and CCTV screens of the apartment complex, only the faint sound of machinery running could be heard.

"Huh, what!"

Soon, a bewildered cry came from the crowd surrounding the management office, and someone came running out of breath.

"We're surrounded! The apartment people have surrounded us! What do we do?"

"How...?"

An unexpected turn of events. The apartment residents had already prepared for the attack. They surrounded us instead.

I immediately grasped the situation, and the uncle who led this attack gritted his teeth.

"Traitor! There was a traitor!"

A betrayer, someone who sold our attack information to the apartment people. With the combined numbers from the various neighborhoods, there could have been people with different thoughts, but...

'The real problem is people.'

I sighed. The attack failed. If things go wrong, even the work on the villa street could be disrupted. Checking my phone, I realized I needed to stall for time.

'I have to drag it out until the blackout comes.'

I glance at the uncle. He is gripping the iron pipe in anger at the betrayer, but his eyes are shaking, seemingly flustered.

I approached him.

"If we retreat like this, we'll lose. We have to get something. Otherwise, we'll lose a lot. Who will believe our words from now on?"

It's a fatal blow to the uncle who had gathered people and wanted a leadership position. After gathering people and moving, to fail? The value of the people is greatly diminished.

The shaking in the uncle's eyes stopped. He tightened the red string with "Unity Struggle" written on it.

"I know. At least we should get back what we stole from our own neighborhood. They also don't want to fight to the death, so we can negotiate."

That's it. Problems caused by people are solved by people. I chuckled and hid my smile under the mask.