Chapter 37: Friendly Neighbors [2] |
A suspicious neighbor moved in. Sagi-hyeok, who only brought a heavy bag, worked diligently as if he was trying to settle down in the villa neighborhood.
Whenever there was physical work to be done, he was the first to step up and sweat. When people complained about some difficulty, he would roll up his suit sleeves and try to help. He always spoke in a friendly tone and greeted people.
However, the people in the villa neighborhood were not quick to open their hearts.
"That man speaks in a rather unpleasant way."
"He works hard, but not very well. It's a relief as long as he doesn't interfere."
His speech, which seemed to insult people indirectly, and his work, which did not yield very good results despite sweating, made the neighbors suspicious.
Above all, because he had been greatly deceived by the scheme of the very wicked apartment people, he cast glances of suspicion and surveillance. It seemed as if an invisible wall had been erected between Sagi-hyeok and the villa people.
Despite this, through Sagi-hyeok's persistent efforts to knock on the wall, he was gradually accepted by us.
"After checking the news, it seems he was involved in a big investment business. When did he ever do this kind of labor?"
The suspicious people investigated his background and at least gave him a minimum of trust.
"Mr. Sagi-hyeok, since you've worked, please take this. It's instant rice and spam."
"Wow, this physical labor is rewarding and good! I've never even been to the military. Spam may not be as good as beef, but it's unavoidable these days. I have to eat it."
"...Then don't eat the spam! Go find some beef to eat!"
Anyway, Sagi-hyeok mingled with the people as a somewhat lacking neighbor.
Of course, our predator members were different.
Based on their experience in the Hope Community, Park Yang-gun and Jeon Do-hyeong, who were in charge of farming, looked at him with unfriendly eyes.
The members gathered in my house after a long time. Park Yang-gun, with dirt on his hands, shook his head.
"How can you trust a person who just talks big? As soon as he opens his mouth, he's busy bragging about how great he was. His appearance is not very good either."
Jeon Do-hyeong frowned more bluntly, and his grumbling was tinged with hatred.
"That guy is a scammer. The way he talks is exactly like a scammer. Like the people who came when his parents died and he inherited, the people he met through stocks, they all have that kind of feel."
"That's right. His name is Sagi-hyeok, so he's clearly a scammer."
I, who had been doubting whether Sagi-hyeok was a simple person based on his actions, spoke confidently, convinced that I was not wrong. It was right to judge by the impression given by the name.
However, the two members looked at me in bewilderment.
"It's not about appearance, and who judges people by their name?"
"That's a bit..."
What is it? Why are the people who are the best at living up to their names ignoring my judgment? Judging people based on appearance, feelings, just as groundlessly as me? Aren't I the rational one?
I opened my mouth to refute, but in the end I just sighed deeply. There's no need to fight over something so childish. There's no benefit either.
I roughly changed the subject.
Jeon Do-hyeong, who faithfully visits the Hope Community to meet his girlfriend even in this harsh world.
"Is the Hope Community still fine? Is the dating going well?"
"Oh, why is love...?"
Jeon Do-hyeong blushed with embarrassment, but his expression was also slightly dark as he talked about the community.
"The Hope Community is doing really well. They clashed with the police last time, but the police retreated."
"...The police?"
Honestly, isn't the police the strongest group in this area? They have guns, bulletproof vests, and their numbers are not inferior.
But Jeon Do-hyeong described the scene of the clash as if he had witnessed it firsthand.
Shields made from car doors and hoods, Molotov cocktails emitting smoke, slingshots that can kill people, long spears, orderly formations. They even welded shields onto cars to make makeshift armored vehicles.
It was truly apocalyptic...
I opened my mouth in awe.
While we were clumsily bickering, the real powers were waging a real war...
But it seems there were some problems.
"They couldn't completely block the virus, so sometimes one or two people turn into zombies. Ye-ji seems to be under a lot of stress, always crying and saying she's scared and feels like she's going to die..."
I'm not interested in other people's love lives. I'm more interested in the downsides of communal living.
'As expected, living in a group makes you vulnerable to viruses. It's clear that they'll eventually be destroyed by the virus. For real.'
It's not that I'm cursing the group I left because they're doing well. This is a rational, logical, and scientific prediction.
At that point, the conversation ran out.
"Well, good night. I'll be working tomorrow too."
"See you tomorrow."
"Yes, boil some water and be careful of the virus."
The members left.
Left alone, I prepared well. I hid a hammer, a pistol, a water gun, and a taser gun in various places around my sleeping area, hung a small bell on the window, and barricaded the door with a chair before falling asleep.
***
In a world where the apocalypse has progressed to a certain degree, the space is divided. It's a concept of territory. Many people have created territories centered around their residences with steel front doors, and many zombies have gathered in commercial buildings and public facilities.
Places like PC rooms, cafes, subways, restaurants, convenience stores, and commercial buildings were designed for easy access by people, and naturally became strongholds for zombies.
Glass doors are easily broken, and stairs are essential.
Anyway, the villa neighborhood was safer than expected.
To the point where we could openly work on the streets.
"Let's make a safe villa neighborhood!"
We block off our villa neighborhood territory. Inconvenient for both zombies and people to approach.
"One, two, three!"
People chanted numbers as they pushed parked cars. They used the cars as a barrier to block the roads.
There were cars with the handbrake on, but that was easily fixed by breaking the glass and going in to release it. Also, for cars with the steering wheel locked, they were abandoned, and the keys from the collected cars were used to start and move the cars.
The sounds of cars slowly moving, people exerting effort, and slow driving could be heard on the street.
On the sidewalk, other people were working diligently.
"Tie everything from this side to that side."
The people holding the red ropes tied knots on the street trees, streetlights, first-floor windows of the villas, and the frames of the parked cars on the street, covering the sidewalk with ropes.
Straight, diagonal, criss-crossing, overlapping.
It made it difficult to walk on the street. From the front or above, it looked like a spider web.
I also worked among them. I hung the police line tape that I got from my police friend menacingly on the street. The outer entrance of the villa street, the broken first-floor windows, and the corpses of the zombies.
Then a shy voice was heard from somewhere.
"Excuse me, neighbors. Could you please untie this for me?"
When I turned my head, it was Sagi-hyeok. He had been working with the police line tape I had distributed, but for some reason, his arms and legs were tied up with the tape.
He had simply been working on taping, and ended up tying himself up.
"Neighbors?"
As Sagi-hyeok hopped over, the people around him sighed heavily and scolded him, as if they were used to it.
"You fool. What did you do to get taped up like that..."
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"It would have been better if you had gone to farm, or no, cut a plastic bottle and cut your own finger. Ugh. Let's do the work properly."
And yet, they went over and untied the tape. The result of Sagi-hyeok's efforts had been well-integrated.
But I narrowed my eyes and glared at him.
'Is he a spy?'
A spy who lowers the efficiency of the group's labor and wastes resources? The resources he just wasted, including the precious tape I got from my police friend, are no small matter. That's several meters of tape.
It's a serious waste of resources. The elderly who are farming are even better.
I swung the hammer aimlessly, lost in thought. Should I deal with him? His expression was also a bit ambiguous.
But I turned my head at the muttering of the uncle who came up behind me.
"I must be crazy. Suspecting that guy as a zombie."
"But he could be a spy, couldn't he?"
"That guy?"
The uncle weakly spread his fingers. At the end of it, Sagi-hyeok was smiling and thanking him, then went back to work, only to trip over the rope.
"Ah! My glasses!"
The sight of him groping the floor to find the fallen glasses looked pitiful.
"That guy won't even listen to what he says. We won't even let him join the important meetings. We'll just have the zombies influence the influential people."
I nodded after pondering. Since the uncle seems to be an expert in this field, I should trust his words.
Just as I was trying to suppress my uneasiness and leave a little doubt, the people working suddenly looked towards the distance.
A person came walking across the street, evading the ropes.
And Sagi-hyeok's face turned pale at the sight of that person.
***
He's a dirty person. His disheveled hair is matted, and his tattered clothes are covered in blood and dust.
In one hand, he holds a can of oil, and in the other, a phone is turned on, as if it's showing someone's photo.
"Excuse me for interrupting your work. Have you seen this person before? Here, look."
He politely asked the working people while holding out the phone, but suddenly started laughing and shaking his body.
Haha. So you've hidden here. Ah, there you are. Sagi-hyeok, you bastard scammer!
The shout echoes loudly.
The people working were puzzled, looking at each other, and soon turned their attention to Sagi-hyeok.
Sagi-hyeok was trembling. His cracked glasses were about to fall off. He unconsciously stepped back, got caught on a rope, and fell backwards.
Even as he fell, he crawled backwards, supporting himself with both hands on the ground.
"No, that's, no."
"What? Investment in the quarantine safety zone development? Do you have information from a government official? The priority for occupancy is for those who invested? Because of that nonsense!"
A dirty person threw a cell phone, and it flew between the ropes and fell at Sagi-hyeok's feet. There were photos of an investment presentation.
Neatly dressed Sagi-hyeok confidently giving a presentation.
The situation was understood. Sagi-hyeok is a criminal, and that dirty person is the victim.
I clenched my fist at that moment.
'He's a scammer, isn't he!'
Somehow, his name already had a scammer vibe. Sagi-hyeok's slightly uncomfortable impression changed instantly. To liking.
A merchant who sells people's hopes and greed, a scammer who skillfully manipulates people's hearts, a plunderer who has been stealing other people's money since the world was fine and even used the apocalypse.
This is something I have to admit.
"You, stay there!"
As the victim approached, crouching to avoid the rope, the villa residents tried to stop the victim. After all, he was a neighbor in the villa area, and above all, the victim's weapon was dangerous.
"First, put down that oil drum-"
"Get lost!"
There was no time to stop him. The victim quickly poured the oil drum. A beautiful rainbow-colored liquid spread across the street. The victim also poured oil over his own body.
He quickly took out a lighter, as if he had practiced this action dozens of times. A madness-like flame burned in the victim's eyes.
"I just have to kill that guy. So get out of the way."
"No..."
The villa people couldn't do anything. Even the old man seemed to be in shock.
"A scammer? That? I can't see people like that, can I? If it was a Prajit... I should have doubted. Doubted unconditionally."
Sagi-hyeok slowly stood up with his head bowed. A bitter voice came out.
"Everyone, please step aside. It's my fault, so I'll take responsibility."
"Yeah, you should take responsibility! I just believed your words and waited without doing anything, and my daughter, my wife became zombies! I'd rather have bought a villa on an island than invest in you-"
There seems to be a story. I wrote a scenario with him as the protagonist.
A world where the zombie virus has spread.
Sagi-hyeok approaches the one trying to find a way to survive, offering the hope of a quarantine safety zone.
But it was a scam, and in the meantime, his family became zombies and collapsed.
Who should he direct his anger at? The chairman? He's overseas, and even if he curses a voodoo doll, the chairman won't be affected by such a curse.
It's Sagi-hyeok. He sold fake hope, so the responsibility for the collapse of hope lies entirely with him. That's how the victim would be wandering the dangerous streets, holding Sagi-hyeok's photos and the oil drum, tracking him down.
Fighting zombies, fighting thieves, fighting a dangerous group.
'If I set myself on fire here and die together with Sagi-hyeok, it might be a good ending.'
Unfortunately, this was reality, and the fire was too dangerous, and Sagi-hyeok was a usable talent.
I held my breath and moved stealthily. Paying attention to the position of the shadow, I quietly approached the blind spot of the victim's vision.
People had already gathered around the victim and Sagi-hyeok, and the victim did not feel my presence.
"Did you feel comfortable running away? Did you think I couldn't chase you?"
The victim grabbed Sagi-hyeok's collar with his oil-soaked hands. According to the rough shaking gestures, Sagi-hyeok, with his eyes tightly closed, was shaken back and forth.
I stood in an appropriate position and briefly looked around. Jeon Do-hyeong looked at me with an expression that seemed to say "That guy is doing it again," and Park Yang-gun had an expression that seemed to say "Physiognomy is a science."
The uncle also nodded slightly, as if he knew what I was going to do.
"Speak, you dog-like human!"
He pulls the hammer back greatly. The target is the top of the head. In martial arts terms, it's the "heavenly spirit." You have to knock him out in one blow. I can't give him a chance to light the lighter.
If the fire spreads incorrectly, the entire villa street will burn down. It will spread along the tied ropes in all directions. That means all my resources will disappear.
"I'm sorry-"
At that moment, Sagi-hyeok, who had opened his eyes, looked at me and exclaimed in horror.
"No, behind-"
Crack!
It hit the mark. This was the most perfect hand feel of all the hammer swings I had made so far.
The arson suspect collapsed with a thud. I quickly recovered the lighter from his hand, crouched down, hit his head a few more times, and stood up.
"Let's clear the ropes? It's too vulnerable to fire."
Looking again, that's not an obstacle, it's a fuse.