Marauder of the Apocalypse

Chapter 14: Home [2]

"Zombies. You must live long and healthy on the streets!"

We cannot let the zombies who have stained their hands with blood in our place starve to death. I carelessly lowered the doorstop of the female college student's entrance, as if I had originally left it open, and quickly fled to the couple's house.

Jeon Do-hyeong had already opened the door and was waiting, so he was not caught by the zombies.

As soon as I closed the door, I sat down on the floor. I'm unnecessarily tired. I feel like my physical and mental strength are depleted. But the sense of achievement is not bad.

"Three houses have come into my hands."

"...Three?"

As the gloomy-faced Jeon Do-hyeong asked, I spread out three fingers and folded them one by one.

"Here's the couple's house, there's the female college student's house, and my house."

"Ah. You said you killed the couple here."

Jeon Do-hyeong's voice was low and dark. He was sprawled like a heavily drunk person, and his fingers were trembling.

He flinched and then forced himself to speak.

"Is this right? Even in the apocalypse. Wouldn't it be better to join hands and cooperate with people? Farming together, building barricades and all."

I suddenly looked at him. Is he shocked by this action?

I heard that compared to direct murder using one's own hands, remote killing with a gun or using someone else's hands causes less psychological shock.

I realized that he was at a crossroads.

Will he shatter like a thrown ceramic, or will he be sharpened and worn down on a whetstone to become a sharp knife?

I sighed inwardly.

Even this is called a looter. If there were enough main members in the group, I would have kicked him out, but anyway, he was still useful. Even simple labor would be less of a burden.

"I think I've practiced. If there are over 10 million or 100 million zombies, we'll have to kill people to survive anyway."

"..."

"Or you can think that I killed them. Or that I've already killed the police with a taser gun. Or that the zombies killed them. Or that the chairman did everything wrong."

He spewed out excuses needed for self-justification. This vicious electricity thief will recover on his own.

Whether he shifts responsibility to others or accepts reality.

I no longer have the mental energy to invest in this guy so I quickly turned my attention elsewhere. Beyond the entrance.

I heard the sound of zombies moving down the stairs in front of the door, and the scream of another neighbor encountering the zombies.

"Oh! Zombies!"

"Aaaaah!"

"Die, ugh!"

Brutal sounds. I imagined the scene. The zombies stained with the blood of the female college student, the human counterattack swinging weapons but unable to exert force on the narrow stairs.

Soon, only the growling sound of the zombies was heard beyond the entrance.

I was impressed. This is an outcome beyond my expectations.

"2 kills? Buy one get one free? Was it a zombie from the convenience store?"

Looks like one more house will be emptied? I didn't even imagine a buy one get one free sale, but this zombie has excellent service spirit.

At that, Jeon Do-hyeong let out a cynical laugh.

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"Is this person really insane?"

"No. He's normal. But to survive, he needs to become more ruthless, so he's forcing himself to be strong. He has to adapt faster than others to have an advantage."

My mind is perfectly healthy. Truly.

"If this is normal, then yes, I'm better than this person..."

As Jeon Do-hyeong finished rationalizing himself to some extent, I suddenly snapped out of it. This is not the time. Disinfection! The professor said that hygiene and quarantine are the most important.

No matter how much we wrap our bodies in masks, long clothes, gloves, and hats, we must be careful.

"Quickly spray the disinfectant!"

Chik chik, we disinfected our entire bodies with the quarantine disinfectant. They say it's not good to get it on your body, but we've already embraced the zombies. It's better than virus infection.

***

Modern buildings are impregnable fortresses. The durability of reinforced concrete, the steel front door. Only skilled thieves could penetrate that fortress, and zombies, not being thieves, dare not invade.

No matter how much the outside world is ruined, as long as you hide quietly at home, there is no problem.

When I wrote scenarios, I used to hole up at home and not come out at all, so I continued this reclusive life naturally.

Of course, the police came to the villa in the middle because of the zombies and the dead, but they just passed by lightly, sensing something suspicious.

The police said at the time:

"Killing zombies is also murder, zombies killing people is also murder, carrying weapons and killing people is murder, we can't handle the work right now. Even my detective friends are turning into zombies now. Let's just treat it as a zombie case for now."

In relief, we returned to my house, where the neighboring houses were empty.

Time passed peacefully for a day or two.

Jeon Do-hyeong, who used to go camping, couldn't stay still and wandered around the house, but didn't go out anyway.

There were many things to do.

"...Is this the right way to do this? It seems a bit strange."

"Hmm..."

The hydroponics system I made with a plastic bottle. I roughly stuffed in the onions, scallions, and lettuce I had taken from the houses. But it feels somehow wrong.

"There's no nutrient solution, and no soil. Can these really grow? Isn't it not right?"

"Well... If they die, we'll throw them away, and if they live, we'll eat them."

We had enough food for the time being anyway. This is an experiment. Only the crops that survive in this harsh environment will be worthy of being eaten by me.

And so the hopeful plastic bottles were placed on the sunny floor.

Sometimes the apocalyptic madmen appeared.

"Destroy everything!"

A juvenile delinquent gang riding electric kickboards, breaking windows with slingshots.

"The judgment has come! Only those with faith will be saved-"

Cult religious people going around knocking on doors, proclaiming judgment and salvation.

"We must find the antibody as soon as possible! We are all infected, we must find those with antibodies!"

Strange people going around spraying people, trying to infect them with the virus.

I watched them all from the window. A bitter feeling colored my heart.

'If it were the old days, I would have been pondering how to incorporate these people into the scenario.'

"Now I only observe with the intention of understanding the apocalypse. The realization that the scenario writer wannabe in me has died, and only the looters of the apocalypse remain, was depressing.

Of course, there were more depressed people in the world than me.

"Have you seen this person before?"

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A person carrying a paper with a photo, searching for a missing person. Parents who cling to the body of a zombie shot by the police in an urgent situation and wail. People wandering the streets convinced they are infected.

And so the virus gradually spread, and that day came.

The day the virus diagnostic kit was developed. The day the nuclear power plant stopped and rolling blackouts began. The day the government moved.

24 days after the zombie outbreak.

The government's broadcast was transmitted.

***

"Is this right?"

"It seems to be the same."

In my clean house, where the college girl next door and the couple downstairs had died, we sat blankly watching the TV in our cozy home.

We had turned on TV because the government had announced they would be broadcasting something, but the video was just strange. It wasn't a press conference, an emergency broadcast, or even a clumsy public service announcement or children's cartoon.

Characters standing boldly at the bottom of an unpleasant valley giggled as they talked about the I-virus countermeasures.

- The I-kit has been developed!

- Wow! That's really good news! Let's all get tested, shall we?

An awkwardly human-like character demonstrated how to use the diagnostic kit.

Shoving a long cotton swab deep into the nose, squinting the eyes and gagging.

An absurd muttering involuntarily escaped.

"What is this? What am I looking at?"

"Government announcement? ... Wow, we're really screwed."

The screen changed.

As the bizarre character made a sad face seeing a positive result on the kit, the surrounding friends ran away 2 meters away, and began to directly show the appropriate countermeasures.

- Infected people must be reported to the government! Don't worry too much! You can trust the government's safe quarantine!

- That's right! In the isolated place, you can eat well and sleep well!

Suddenly, there was a crackle of static. For a moment, the screen flickered. Actual footage. Containers with bars and fences for isolation.

Zombies howling, packed as densely as rush hour subway, sprinkled with water by sprinklers, and dry rations like dog food distributed through the bars. It was a scene of raising livestock, rather than humans.

That's when I realized. This is a mistake. There's no way they would show this kind of video.

The PD or staff broadcasting this must have gone mad. Whether it's a sense of justice to expose it, whether the collapsing world made them do this, or whether they judged themselves already infected and did it on purpose.

The only certain thing was that it was not an act of a sane mind.

"Another madman of the apocalypse..."

The screen changed back to the unpleasant characters.

The characters, waving their hands towards the friend being dragged away by a soldier in MOPP 4 protective gear, turned around and whispered.

- But what if you don't have the child kit? If you think you're infected but can't get tested?

- In that case, you should do this! Don't go out of the house, report to the government!

They showed a number.

- This number will be used for the government to contact you periodically! If you don't receive the call, they will judge that the symptoms have appeared and come to transfer you to the isolation facility!

Honestly, the quarantine measure of using a perfectly fine soldier in a protective suit seems quite reasonable.

But I have doubts due to that crazy character and the video.

The character winked and closed one eye.

- Of course, there are rules to be followed at that time!

The character who appears to be the protagonist suddenly tied up his friend. And then he threw him hard onto the bed.

- If you suddenly become a zombie and hurt your family, wouldn't that be sad? Wear a mask and tie your wrists and ankles tightly!

Such nonsensical talk...

I was gradually overloaded. My thoughts were not flowing well. Shock and bewilderment dominated my entire mind.

Next, the character put on glasses. A chalkboard appeared in the background. Quarantine measures were summarized in detail.

- The most important thing is to not get infected with the virus in the first place! Minimize going out! The government will-

It mentions restricting face-to-face activities and outdoor activities such as remote work, online classes, and restaurants.

- If you go out, be sure to wear a mask! Disinfect your hands!

Measures against the virus that is currently spreading only through droplet infection.

- Hehe. Then I can just play games at home! So good! ...Wait a minute! What if the electricity or water gets cut off?

The stupid-looking male character shook his body anxiously, and the protagonist character laughed.

- No! The government is working to maintain infrastructure and critical facilities! The water supply will provide sanitized clean water, and there will be no problem with electricity except for rolling blackouts!

Noise appeared again, and the actual screen was shown.

Footage of a military unit moving. Looking at the background, it seems to be a national critical facility. Electricity, gas, water, isolation facility, pharmaceutical company, and so on.

And then, the character appeared on the screen with a bang.

- The government is doing its best to maintain society! Safe administration, safe quarantine! But the most important thing is the cooperation of the citizens! Stay at home until the vaccine and treatment are developed!

The voice stretched out, and the character turned into a zombie, reaching out towards the screen.

After that, a few screens flashed by briefly. An image of a character playing a game killing their entire family, an image of an infected person tied to a bed breaking the window with their head and jumping out, an image of a patient being treated like an animal in isolation.

And then the screen suddenly cut off.

The flustered announcer hastily tried to resolve the situation.

- There was a broadcasting accident. An incorrect video was aired. We apologize. Ah, there will be a government statement. We will connect to the scene.

For a moment, it seemed like silence had fallen over the entire world.

Apparently, after roughly explaining it with a friendly public service announcement, they to hold a national address or press conference... A crazy PD caused an accident.

I suddenly sighed.

'Wow... Is this a talent?'

No matter how hard I try to become more cynical, I feel a wall that I cannot overcome.

That madness. Faithfully following the chairman of Immortal Company, with just one video, sowing distrust in the government that is handling it well. A true madman accelerating the apocalypse.

It's on a different level from me, who is just struggling to survive.

And that fact gave me a sense of relief.

The social concept that makes it easier to commit crimes, the spreading pseudo-religion, the person spraying the virus with a spray bottle, the madman terrorizing the government's announcement through broadcasting.

'I'm going to be ruined because of people like that.'

24th day since the zombie outbreak.

I was enjoying my daily life in my cozy home, the government's press conference had become a mess, and society had started to fall apart.

As rolling blackouts began, the darkness that descended upon the world seemed to loom.