Marauder of the Apocalypse
Chapter 128: Karma

I couldn't miss out on the ambush.

I spent the entire day eating and sleeping at the commercial building where we'd set the bait. My companions who came and went like night watchmen nodded their heads in greeting when they saw me. By sunrise, my criminal companions had come to visit.

"Had breakfast yet?" I asked, rubbing my sleepy eyes.

Park Yang-gun chuckled. "You need to eat well to work properly. Have you eaten?"

"Just woke up... Do you think they'll attack today?"

At my question, everyone shrugged or shook their heads uncertainly. Sa Gi-hyeok spoke up.

"I don't know. We don't understand their system. They might overlook someone not returning for a day or two, or they might come immediately since trade is important."

Is that so? I'd prefer to get this over with quickly.

With my mask on, I yawned widely and searched my bag for a water bottle. I checked the position of the cap and label, as well as the amount of water, to make sure no one had tampered with it while I slept.

I pulled a straw from my chest, slipped it under my mask, and drank. The cool water helped clear my head a bit.

Words immediately tumbled out.

"The riders who come to investigate might be quite armed. They might even have pistols."

After weighing the risks all night, I'd concluded we shouldn't let our guard down. Naturally, my companions, being experienced raiders, had similar thoughts.

Jeon Do-hyung held up two fingers. "They'll probably move in pairs at minimum. They wouldn't travel alone with the risks out there."

He was right. Walking alone was practically begging to be killed. A rider delivering alone would be the strange one.

"Not sure about drones or explosives though. Whether those electricity-obsessed folks share their equipment."

"That's..."

Despite thinking about it, I really didn't know. Normal groups wouldn't share their equipment due to power struggles, but the Electricity Nomads who were satisfied just having electricity might be different.

If they could use electricity freely, they might be willing to share minor equipment.

After considering briefly, I sighed.

"We'll have to adapt to the situation."

How could an ordinary person like me guess the thoughts of a madman who prioritized electricity over survival? The issues with these slightly deranged Electricity Nomads would have to be handled through improvisation.

I rummaged through my bag for a lunch box, then waved my hands at my companions.

"I'm going to eat, so please move away."

Survival distancing was important.

My masked companions backed away more than three meters. A space formed between us. This was what the I-virus created by our chairman had done—a virus that drove people apart.

I chewed on rice balls filled with fried kimchi and made small talk.

"Jeon Do-hyung. Are you okay not visiting your girlfriend?"

"It's hard to see her often anyway. I just need to see her when we go to the survival zone for trading."

I asked Jeon Do-hyung pointless personal questions, asked Park Yang-gun if he was short on alcohol, and discussed future plans with Sa Gi-hyeok.

Sa Gi-hyeok spoke with unexpected seriousness.

"As always, the exit strategy is crucial. The stage where you wrap up the con, the stage where you escape without issues."

Whether he'd built friendships with companions or developed attachment to our organization through his multi-level business, Sa Gi-hyeok was formulating a proper business plan.

Sa Gi-hyeok looked me straight in the eye and asked, "But even more important is vision. A vision must be established before an exit strategy can be planned. Mr. Da-in, what's your purpose? What's the aim of our Immortal organization?"

"My purpose."

I swallowed my food and briefly looked at the ceiling.

I had no particular purpose or vision. Wasn't that all about the future? I was satisfied just enjoying the present moment.

'I wasn't always like this...'

When I committed my first murder, I still worried about the future. But in a world like this, how many people would plan for the future? I chuckled and showed my rice ball to Sa Gi-hyeok, who was waiting for an answer.

"It's all just about surviving. Raiding is the best way to live well."

These weren't people I could be honest with.

Park Yang-gun had betrayed his church the moment zombie blood touched the pastor's lips. Sa Gi-hyeok was a con artist who planned exit strategies. Jeon Do-hyung was an electricity thief bold enough to steal from the government.

There was no unified organization or strong solidarity. These were people who would make their own decisions if things went wrong.

Sa Gi-hyeok adjusted his glasses and watch, a sign he might be preparing to con someone, and spoke in a calm voice.

"If that's the case, let's capture a rider as a hostage and negotiate. Conflict only creates problems. Don't we have an environment for self-sufficiency now?"

He was saying the same thing as yesterday.

Looking carefully into Sa Gi-hyeok's eyes, I glimpsed a flash of anxiety.

"Tell me your reasons."

"I understand that we need to fight as long as avengers remain, that this is a world where we kill each other to survive. But think longer term."

Sa Gi-hyeok listed various reasons.

It would be too dangerous when ammunition ran out, unable to break the vicious cycle we'd never escape. In this world, fanatics obsessed with revenge were too dangerous...

With mountains and water, we could create conditions for self-sufficiency.

I finished eating while listening to his story. I put my mask back on and looked at Sa Gi-hyeok.

'So he's a con artist who committed crimes even when the world was normal?'

Sa Gi-hyeok seemed to vaguely sense the end of our fall. The reason he felt anxious even when everything was going well was because he was anticipating the future.

Above all, he had the luxury of worrying about the future because his stomach was full.

"It's a complex issue that can't be thought of so simply."

I spoke with sincerity. It truly was a complex issue. People betray and desert when hungry. When full, they become lazy and distracted. Managing people as a leader was so difficult.

"We're eating and living well now because of raiding, and it will continue that way. Self-sufficiency? With winter coming? It's too late for farming."

I listed convenient excuses. There's no harvest in a season of famine. Naturally, the famine would continue until spring.

And the only way to survive famine was raiding.

"This isn't the time to think about an exit strategy. It's time to think about killing more."

Sa Gi-hyeok blinked, as if realizing his mistake. He stared blankly out the window, then ran his hand over his face.

"You're right. Oh, what a mistake. Self-sufficiency requires the right season. I don't know much about farming."

"Thank you for seriously considering our future, but living this way is best until this winter ends."

I offered some polite words. If it had been summer, Sa Gi-hyeok's words might have swayed my companions, which would have caused serious problems. Fortunately, timing was on my side.

Just then, Park Yang-gun, who had been quietly flexing his hands, suddenly turned his head. Perking up his ears, he ducked below the window.

"Motorcycle sounds."

Were they already coming to investigate? We all crouched down, readying our weapons. A sudden idea struck me, and I called to Park Yang-gun.

"Mr. Park Yang-gun. Can you act?"

"What kind of acting?"

"Act like a normal survivor."

My face and voice, along with Jeon Do-hyung's and Sa Gi-hyeok's, were fairly well-known, but Park Yang-gun was different. He could easily fool them.

***

Park Yang-gun took off his pulled-down bucket hat and tied his disheveled hair with a string. His somewhat gloomy appearance transformed into that of an ordinary survivor.

"As long as they're not from the church, they won't recognize you," I said.

Park Yang-gun grumbled in complaint.

"This kind of job should go to that con artist, why pick me?"

"You're the only one whose face isn't known to the Delivery Vigilantes."

As the leader, I would be a person of interest, and they'd have memorized my description. The same went for Sa Gi-hyeok, who ran the multi-level business. Jeon Do-hyung, who frequently visited his girlfriend, would be familiar to them.

Conversely, the face of Park Yang-gun, who had the faint presence of a thief, wouldn't be in the Delivery Vigilantes' information.

Park Yang-gun clicked his tongue and glanced out the window.

"They're swinging swords at the air out there."

"Have they approached?"

"They're checking from a distance and looking around. Two of them."

Indeed, the motorcycle sound had been growing louder and softer repeatedly for a while.

"Is a sword their only weapon?"

"Don't know. All I can see is swords."

Swords. A weapon I hadn't expected. Really? Honestly, it wasn't a very useful weapon in the apocalypse. Aren't they hard to handle?

'Do they carry swords just because they're delivery riders? Are they a bit crazy too?'

Like RiderZero dreaming of romance, these people seemed intoxicated by some strange romantic notion. Maybe they thought fighting with swords while riding motorcycles looked cool.

"None of the alliance organizations seem normal..." Jeon Do-hyung muttered incredulously. In contrast, Sa Gi-hyeok looked thoughtful.

"Maybe they carry them because of string traps?"

"Ah, is that it?"

Maybe? Maybe not? It seemed plausible yet impractical.

Just then, Park Yang-gun reached his hand out the window and waved.

"They've spotted me. They're coming."

We held our breath and checked our weapons. If the opponent had a sword, ordinary weapons wouldn't be effective. Even a sling was questionable. I wasn't confident in my aim.

"Ready your guns."

"Didn't you say not to leave evidence?"

"They have swords. Swords must be met with guns."

Shortly after, the motorcycle engine sound grew closer, and we heard people's voices. They kept their distance, as the voices weren't loud.

"Is that a hand? Or a zombie?"

"Don't know."

"Man, seriously. They even changed the corpse's clothes. This is getting weirder."

Park Yang-gun raised his voice. "I'm human! Don't you want information?"

The rider's voice stopped, then came a reply.

"What information?"

"About that corpse. I know who killed him. I'll tell you everything if you give me food."

Park Yang-gun lied as naturally as breathing. The rider, not sensing anything amiss, continued the conversation, though their voice remained distant as if they weren't approaching.

"You didn't kill him, right? And this isn't a trap?"

"I'm not crazy enough to change a corpse's clothes just to set a trap."

What was this? Why did it sound so genuine? I stared at Park Yang-gun, but could only see the back of his head, unable to read his expression. I just waited anxiously for the riders to enter the building.