Marauder of the Apocalypse-Chapter 100: End of Summer

The building had been thoroughly cleaned out. We moved around the villa leisurely but cautiously, checking every corner. There might still be traps.

The mercenaries who had scattered in all directions gradually returned, each clutching small amounts of resources.

"Found some alcohol and cigarettes. They had them hidden away like hamsters."

"Got some aspirin, energy drinks, and herbal medicine. Masks and hand sanitizer too."

"Ramen and candy as well."

The dust-covered mercenaries grumbled as they neatly stacked the resources in the transport cart. Listening to their complaints, I got the impression that the people who had lived in this hideout were like squirrels.

'Why hide things in so many places?'

Stuffed inside pillows and blankets, tucked inside clothes like emergency money, stashed here and there. Probably items each person had prepared for emergencies.

While we were at it, Park Yang-gun returned with an armful of food. He laughed excitedly and said cheerfully:

"Can't fool my eyes."

He seemed full of energy. The gloomy old man who drank soju every day was enjoying focusing on his real profession. This probably felt like a hidden picture puzzle to Park Yang-gun.

The transport cart was overflowing to the point of bursting. I casually approached and rummaged through the items.

Unlike the landlord, these hideout guys hadn't organized anything, so expiration dates and types were all mixed up, but the quantity was evident.

"Not bad. Still feels wasteful considering the cost of bullets."

But when scraped together thoroughly, it amounted to quite a lot. The mercenaries seemed satisfied, laughing softly.

"We got a handgun too. And picked up some pistol ammunition."

Well, if I thought of it as testing the combat cart, it wasn't a loss. This was killing two birds with one stone. Testing and raiding.

I suddenly turned to look at our member. The father, looking like his soul had left his body, was huddled in a corner, staring blankly.

'Is he a bit shocked?'

I was just acting to lure those hideout guys out while collecting resources, but he seemed genuinely frightened. I clicked my tongue internally. For someone with survival experience comparable to mine, his mental fortitude was...

"Bandages..."

I rummaged around for adhesive bandages to cover his wound. We'd packed them in the transport cart in case we couldn't return directly to the villa district.

With the bandage in hand, I sauntered over to the father member.

"Why did you do something to get hit and wounded? If you'd just stayed put, you wouldn't have been struck."

I crouched in front of the member and applied the bandage to his forehead. Hit by the rifle butt, his skin had split open. His face was pale, and his hands trembled.

"I really thought you were going to kill me."

The father member mumbled weakly. I grabbed his shoulder firmly.

"You lack faith, Member. How could I possibly kill a member? It was all an act to peacefully acquire resources."

"It seemed so real."

I laughed heartily and glanced at Sa Gi-hyeok.

"If I did that, we couldn't run our business. Even if I wanted to, he would stop me."

"No, I couldn't stop you. There's something strange about your personality. That scarecrow thing before was really..."

Sa Gi-hyeok spoke tactlessly. Internally sighing, I jumped to my feet and patted the member's shoulder.

"Go ahead and take your fifteen percent. I was going to charge you for the bullets and reduce your incentive, but I feel bad about hitting your head, so I'll let you have it."

The member glanced around cautiously before slowly moving. He put small amounts of resources into his bag. His gestures were timid because the mercenaries were watching him with dissatisfaction.

"Alright, let's head back."

Another fulfilling day had ended. I stretched fully as I walked ahead, when suddenly I noticed the pile of corpses coated in white powder. Would it be a waste to leave like this?

Without much thought, I picked up a fire extinguisher and sprayed it on the ground like paint.

"What are you doing?"

"Cough, cough."

People around me looked on curiously. The cloudy powder obscured my vision, making me wave my hand.

I answered simply:

"A mark? Logo? Leaving our sign."

The misty extinguisher powder coated the road. I drew an alphabet letter with the white powder. I. For Immortal's initial. A sign that we had been here.

But the fire extinguisher wasn't spray paint, and the letter I ended up looking messy. The powder scattered in all directions and blurred. It was barely recognizable.

'Hard to make it look good.'

Oh well. It was just for fun anyway, and the material was powder. Left alone, it would blow away in the wind or wash away in the rain.

Sa Gi-hyeok stared blankly at the mark before looking up.

"What did you draw? It just looks like someone spilled flour."

"...It's nothing. Let's hurry back."

***

Several peaceful days passed.

We worked based on reports from newly joined members, diligently stockpiled resources, and spent time at home.

The stream area survivors were busy either leaving the area because of us or eagerly looking for reporting targets, but the atmosphere in the villa district remained calm.

I stood by the window, looking down at the villa district.

"Is this the right way to make it?"

Mercenaries with nothing to do spread mats on the road and sat making tools to pass the time.

They extracted expired oil from cars to make Molotov cocktails, built fish traps for the stream, and recreated traps they'd learned from the alliance and the landlord.

It wasn't just mercenaries who came out.

"Now, now. That's dangerous. Don't touch this."

"Aw, come on."

Some brought their young children to teach them directly. Parents and spouses came out to help with the work too.

Our companions were similar. Sa Gi-hyeok mingled with people, talking and laughing. Park Yang-gun sat by the roadside drinking alcohol and watching people. Do-hyung was cutting the legs of perfectly good tables and chairs, saying he would make furniture suitable for the children.

Everyone was getting along reasonably well.

I tapped the windowsill, lost in thought.

'Comradeship, family feeling. A sense of belonging is important.'

Don't mafia organizations call themselves "families"? The closer the bonds, the better. It would make betrayal more difficult.

Yet I couldn't join them myself.

Crowded places made me uncomfortable. I preferred staying locked in my room writing scenarios. How to utilize the stream area, how to deal with the alliance and military, how to kill if we fought.

And how to survive the autumn of famine.

'Gas will run out soon too. That's fine. We have plenty to burn. The problem is the autumn drought.'

Water. Water was the issue. If the period without rain lengthened in autumn, the stream would dry up. And without water, people couldn't survive.

I closed my eyes and felt the breeze. It was cool. We had passed the end of August and entered September. Though days were still hot and we sweated profusely when carrying gear, autumn was clearly approaching.

Just then, I heard exclamations of wonder.

"There's a rainbow!"

"Could it be a good sign?"

I opened my eyes and stuck my head out the window.

A vivid rainbow arched across the sky. Normally, I would have emotionlessly taken a photo and moved on, but in this world where there was nothing to do, even a mere rainbow held my gaze longer.

Soon came a shout:

"Motorcycle approaching!"

A report from a mercenary keeping watch on the rooftop. People sitting on the street instantly took battle positions. They grabbed carelessly discarded guns, while family members picked up Molotov cocktails or slingshots.

In an instant, they all dove for cover behind cars and trees.

A rider sat on the approaching motorcycle. The rider awkwardly removed their helmet. It was RiderZero.

"Um... delivery."

"Sa Gi-hyeok and I ordered eggs!"

Do-hyung, holding a saw, quickly stepped forward. He laboriously lifted a box beside the furniture he had been modifying.

"Here's alcohol and cigarettes."

"The count matches perfectly. Here you go."

RiderZero produced a basket full of eggs. I watched quietly before putting on my mask and going outside. Outside, I saw RiderZero speaking amicably.

"We bought a bunch of eggs from the military. Worried some might hatch into chicks. So we're selling the extras."

"Haha. Many people can't find eggs at all these days. Thank you for selling them to us."

Sa Gi-hyeok said with a bright smile.

He was saying that selling us eggs was an act of goodwill he wouldn't forget. This was a kind of gift. Because they knew our firepower.

RiderZero looked around at the mercenaries and families, then our eyes met. RiderZero bluntly said:

"So you haven't moved to the stream area? I heard rumors you were operating aggressively there."

Probably not good rumors. Was she fishing for information? Exploring? Checking if we'd completely turned into raiders with our guns?

Should I kill her? Murderous intent surged. It was possible right now. But considering the Delivery Vigilantes and alliance behind RiderZero, the loss would outweigh the gain.

I smiled bitterly and waved my hand.

"We have a lot of families to feed. All we have are guns, so we need to use them to survive."

"You won't join the alliance?"

"What skills do I have to offer them? Once I run out of bullets, I'm nothing. The physical labor is handled by scavengers and firefighters."

RiderZero tilted her head and muttered to herself:

"That sounds like what criminals say... No, never mind."

As the mercenaries' gun barrels subtly aimed at her, RiderZero trailed off.

I understood what she meant. It sounded like the typical excuses criminals make. I had my reasons, it's society's fault—self-justification.

RiderZero put her helmet back on. Her voice came out muffled through it:

"Anyway, be careful. There's news of a typhoon coming."

That was it. RiderZero left.

I stood for a moment, watching her receding figure.

'Set fishing line or wire across the middle of the road and call her over... Smear virus on the goods offered as payment...'

Traps to target the Delivery Vigilantes. Then I looked back and forth between Do-hyung and Sa Gi-hyeok.

"How do you have enough resources to buy so many eggs...?"

"I don't drink or smoke, so I sold those."

"I don't drink either."

Sa Gi-hyeok confidently held up the basket of eggs. Like a trophy.

"We haven't had a party since Immortal was formed. We don't have steak or champagne, but let's make do with eggs."

People who had taken cover emerged one by one, laughing.

"A company dinner?"

"We'll have to eat at a distance because of the virus, but why not try to create some atmosphere?"

The mood was good. The mercenary who had mentioned cup noodles earlier rummaged through his pockets and pulled out several ketchup packets.

"I was saving these to give my son as a gift. How about making scrambled egg rice and pouring this on top?"

Fast food restaurant ketchup. Food we would never eat again.

He had probably prepared it to give his child at least a faint experience of what we had once taken for granted but children would no longer enjoy.

The mercenary vigorously ruffled his son's hair and handed him the ketchup. The fast food logo was clearly imprinted on the packet.

I nodded silently.

On the street where the rainbow had disappeared, cooking began. With too few eggs for the number of people, the scrambled egg rice was mostly plain rice with just a bit of egg, and everyone sat separately on the street to eat, but the cheerful atmosphere continued.

I sat far away, shoveling rice into my mouth.

'Eggs. Lots of nutrients. Need to consume.'

Just then, Do-hyung approached.

"They say a typhoon is coming. What should we do?"

"Secure the windows and hole up at home."

There was no other option. I suddenly noticed a roadside tree. It was already showing autumn colors. The leaves were blood-red.

Not real autumn foliage. You know how sometimes you see trees with red leaves even in spring or summer, as if they're diseased?

Still, autumn colors were autumn colors, and it felt like the seasons were changing.

"So it's autumn now."

At the end of summer, autumn arrived with the typhoon.