Marauder of the Apocalypse-Chapter 77: Alliance

Today was my turn to do the dishes. I also had to prepare the meal. I entered the house we used as our supply storage and looked over the stockpiled food.

I rummaged through the supplies we'd organized by type and expiration date, and picked up a few packets of ramen.

Less than six months had passed since the zombie outbreak began. The ramen was well within its expiration date, even its best-by date was still safe.

Still, it spoiled much faster than rice or canned goods, so we needed to eat it first.

With the ramen tucked under my arm, I stared blankly at the canned goods with their generous expiration dates.

"Those are too valuable..."

Spam that would last nearly three years and tuna cans boasting five to ten-year shelf lives. I'd only been eating them occasionally when I needed protein.

No, what was I saving them for? My current enjoyment was what mattered.

I gathered an armful of food items, left the storage house, and kicked at my companions' doors as I climbed the stairs.

"I'm preparing lunch. Come up in a bit."

Leaving behind their mumbled responses, I started cooking.

I closed the windows to prevent food smells from escaping outside, then turned on the tap to fill a large pot with water. As the water trickled in, I frowned.

"Why does it smell like bleach?"

There was a faint bleach smell. If it was strong enough to smell, it was probably unsafe to use.

But wasting water felt wrong. I took out another pot and poured in some of our precious bottled water instead.

I dissolved some gochujang, added kimchi, cut spam into chunks with a spoon, dumped in tuna with its oil, sprinkled in some ramen seasoning, and tossed in a few withered lettuce leaves for health.

Just as my creation that vaguely resembled army stew began boiling vigorously and I added the ramen noodles, my companions entered.

"Smells good, what are you cooking?"

"Just threw in whatever we had."

Park Yang-gun passed through the entrance and into the kitchen, swallowing hard when he saw the red broth.

"Perfect with soju."

"Did you use bottled water? I accidentally added too much bleach to the water tank yesterday."

That was Sa Gi-hyeok speaking. I whipped my head around. So he was the culprit! Sa Gi-hyeok looked at the pot, sensed my glare, and flinched backward.

"Why did you put in so much bleach? Trying to poison us?"

"What? No, why are you talking so scary? It was early morning after the shower, and my hand shook while disinfecting the rainwater."

I smacked my forehead. This was exactly the kind of mistake he would make. Still, I wasn't happy about it.

"How much did you spill... Can we dilute this somehow?"

Water was incredibly precious. There weren't even streams near the villa district, so rainwater was our only resource. Each water tank was worth more than gold.

Do-hyung nudged past me.

"Let's eat first. Hurry up and serve it."

"You do it."

"You're on duty today."

I sighed heavily as I portioned out the stew into bowls. Then I placed them in front of my companions, who were sitting far apart from each other in the large room.

"Eat up."

"Wow, a feast. Got any soju?"

"I don't drink, so I don't have any. You'd have to go to the storage house."

"I'll just eat then. Better not open the door and risk attracting zombies."

The sounds of slurping hot broth and chewy noodles followed. We ate in silence, our expressions less than pleased.

The heat was the problem. Eating hot stew with all the windows closed in summer felt like torture. Sweat poured down our faces, and it felt like we were cooking from the inside out. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

And it didn't even taste good.

One by one, people who had been eating with tightly closed mouths put down their spoons. We all seemed to share the same opinion.

I spoke first.

"I'm sick of this."

"We've been eating nothing but factory food and rice, or kimchi stew, stir-fried kimchi, kimchi fried rice, ramen with kimchi, stuff like that every day."

That was exactly it. We were tired of it. We'd been eating similar foods for months. Three-minute meals, canned goods, rice, kimchi. We were so sick of it that it was becoming difficult to even put in our mouths.

Do-hyung made a wistful comment.

"Even just some minced garlic would make this so much better."

"Some green onions on top wouldn't hurt either."

We missed the fresh taste of vegetables. Essential ingredients like garlic, green onions, onions, peppers. Or real meat.

I forced the food into my mouth.

"We can't waste any. It'll spoil quickly in this heat."

"How about doenjang stew next time?"

"What doenjang stew? It would just be water with bean paste. We don't have onions or zucchini, so it won't work."

We slowly emptied our bowls, barely eating. We spent more time chatting than actually eating.

Why is the weather like this, when will fall arrive, we're out of alcohol and not stealing anymore, going crazy without electricity, want to talk to people...

Our conversation, centered around various complaints, eventually shifted to the survival zone.

"Seems like the survival zone talks are progressing. Those electricity-obsessed people are actively supporting it. They say if a safe zone is established, they can strip solar panels from everywhere and move them there."

I stared at Do-hyung for a moment, then casually asked.

"Do you know who first brought up the survival zone idea?"

"I heard the Delivery Vigilantes proposed it... Wait, what are you planning?!"

Do-hyung, who had answered without thinking, jumped up in alarm. He knocked his stew bowl, spilling some of the red liquid.

Park Yang-gun and Sa Gi-hyeok also paused and stared at me.

I stirred my stew with my spoon and sighed.

"What could I possibly do? Maybe I could mess with a single organization, but something this big is beyond my reach."

"Not at all. The bigger the scale, the more opportunities. You could take a position and embezzle resources, or run a scam using the survival zone as bait, or if you design it well... Um, did I say something wrong?"

Sa Gi-hyeok awkwardly looked around at his companions. Do-hyung glared at him with an expression that suggested he was dying from frustration.

I chuckled and reassured Sa Gi-hyeok.

"No, you spoke well. I hadn't thought of it that way. As expected, experts have different perspectives."

"Right? Haha. Places where people gather are always the easiest for con artists to operate."

Ignoring Sa Gi-hyeok's sleazy laughter, I set down my spoon with a clang against the bowl.

I looked at my companions.

"So, what are you all planning to do? If this survival zone really happens, will you join it?"

Honestly, I couldn't control all my companions in this situation.

The survival zone offered greater benefits than the abundant resources I provided. Staying with me would become disadvantageous. Especially since they'd been involved in dangerous activities with me.

On the other hand, I'd never "executed" any companions, so I hadn't directly harmed them either.

Everyone put down their utensils and seemed lost in thought. Park Yang-gun was the first to respond with a dry laugh as he rubbed his wrist.

"I'm not going. If I go there, I'll just get caught stealing again and get my wrist cut off."

For Park Yang-gun, whose life revolved around theft, a regulated society was inherently disadvantageous. That's why he would stay.

Next, Sa Gi-hyeok leaned against the wall and muttered.

"If everyone else goes, I'll go too. But if I have to go alone, I'm not sure. Con artistry is all I'm good at. I'd just be mistreated there."

Sa Gi-hyeok, who was genuinely terrible at physical labor, looked down at his hands. He seemed to be reminiscing about his experiences in the villa district, the memories of his time with us.

The acclaim he'd received after his con led to apartment residents' deaths, how we acknowledged his talents as a con artist.

"It's a harsh world. If you can't pull your weight, bad things will happen to you."

"True. You should live doing what you're good at... What about you?"

When I turned my attention to Do-hyung, he examined me as if trying to read my intentions.

"What about you? What are you going to do?"

"Well. It's probably too late for me to start living normally. I plan to enjoy life outside the survival zone."

I answered with a voice that mixed in some sincerity. Perhaps I had become addicted to raiding. Now a normal life without raiding seemed to lack stimulation.

Do-hyung nodded as if he'd expected my answer. Then he sat back down and wiped the spilled stew with his sleeve.

"I'll stay too."

"Why?"

I asked briefly. He probably intended to act as the conscience of our raider group, a sort of brake on our worst impulses, but it was better to hear it directly.

Do-hyung muttered in a low voice.

"I can't really join the Hope Community people. Several times a day, I feel like going back and joining them. But every time, I think of the pastor."

Was it a kind of guilt? Because of the memory of supporting the pastor's murder? Was he compensating by passively trying to save people?

Either way, it worked out well. Our raider group wouldn't disband. Though I did find their reasons somewhat absurd.

Park Yang-gun feared getting his wrist cut off for stealing, Sa Gi-hyeok couldn't live without running cons, Do-hyung couldn't seize a good opportunity because of the memory of assisting in murder.

I clapped my hands together.

"Then let's get properly organized."

"Are we going to steal something?"

"No. We need to increase our numbers."

"Suddenly?"

To my companions who were staring at me blankly, I showed my clenched fist.

"The survival zone. They can't gather all the survivors in the city. Strong groups will form the core, and they'll only accept people with needed skills as supplements. What does this mean?"

Sa Gi-hyeok raised his eyes from my fist to stare into space. He grinned.

"It means there'll be two groups. Those who can join the survival zone and those who can't. Haha. Lots of people will be unhappy, right?"

A glint flashed in Sa Gi-hyeok's eyes. All sorts of schemes seemed to pass through his mind.

"We could gather people to disrupt them, or frame them. Those humans who only care about their own survival while leaving others to die."

I shook my hand in slight confusion.

I hadn't intended to interfere with the alliance. I was just suggesting that we live in the wider world outside their tiny survival zone. I meant we should gather raiders who wouldn't be allowed into the survival zone.

But this idea looked good too. More ideas were always better. Enemies should be scattered, allies should unite.

Perhaps this alliance was an opportunity after all. An opportunity to expand our raider group.

"Good. Let's think about gathering people using the excuse that this alliance only cares about saving themselves."

We put our heads together and continued the conversation in earnest.

"First, let's buy guns. I heard the police are selling handguns. Let's sell those rotting lettuce plants for planters, and sell electronic devices to the electricity nomads to buy some explosives."

"Do-hyung, please let us know as soon as the survival zone location is decided. Information is vital."