Marauder of the Apocalypse-Chapter 102: Ruins

"The numbers don't add up..."

I muttered while looking at the raided supplies in our transport cart. There wasn't much food. We'd actually brought more emergency items ourselves.

The mercenaries weren't in good spirits either. Until now, a single raid had yielded plenty of food, so this amount didn't seem satisfactory to them.

Just then, the survivor we'd forced into membership and gotten reports from stepped back cautiously.

"I don't need the incentive. Thank you for your hard work. Goodbye."

The survivor turned to leave.

I quickly reached out and grabbed their wrist. Then I dragged them in front of the cart.

"No, that won't do. You reported to us, so you must take your incentive."

"No, I really don't need it. Really. If you just let me go unharmed..."

The survivor's words trailed off. I forcefully shoved their hand into the transport cart. I applied enough pressure that the survivor's upper body bent over the cart, as if being arrested.

"Urgh!"

"Member. Take it."

I whispered to the back of their head. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

When you share rewards, you share responsibility. They needed to share in the responsibility of commissioning murder. They couldn't remain clean. Above all, this would ensure they'd continue reporting to us.

"Just a little then..."

When I released their arm, the survivor pocketed a couple of cans.

I patted their shoulder and said kindly:

"Our business isn't a scam. We always distribute fairly. So please continue to report enthusiastically in the future. Keep in mind that reporting people with more food means your share increases too."

The season of famine was approaching. That meant resources gained from a single person would decrease.

The solution to this problem was simple. If one person wasn't enough, raid ten; if ten weren't enough, raid a hundred. If profits per case decreased, just take on more cases.

The survivor nodded calmly.

"Yes, yes. I'll definitely do that. Now if you could just let go of my shoulder..."

I gripped the survivor's shoulder tightly and pulled them closer. They came without resistance. Their face drew near mine. Without blinking, I stared directly into their eyes and said:

"So tell me. Don't you have anyone else to report?"

I glanced down at their pocket. Just a couple of canned goods.

"Will that be enough to get through today? Since you're already here, you should take plenty."

"..."

The survivor was silent, then slowly sighed. They were quick-witted. Though they seemed to think nothing good would come from being involved with us, they also knew they had no choice.

Perhaps that's why they quickly changed their attitude. Enthusiastically.

"There's always plenty of people I want dead. People living near me, zombies lurking around, people I've argued with, people with nasty personalities, people I just don't like. Can you kill all of them?"

"Do these people have a lot of resources?"

As long as there were resources to gain and they weren't too dangerous, there was no reason not to kill them.

The survivor shook their head uncertainly.

"There's no way to know. Who announces how many resources they have? If people know you have more than others, you become a target."

I fell into thought briefly, then looked at my companions and the mercenaries. They seemed pleased that there was work to be done.

"Captain, wouldn't it be good to get more food?"

"Another typhoon might come, so I'd like to stockpile when we can."

But there was opposition too. Sa Gi-hyeok. He quickly waved his hands.

"Everyone's short on resources for a few days anyway. Better to harvest after they've fattened up than raid now."

We were in a period where we'd consumed our stockpile because of the typhoon. He was suggesting we wait until people had accumulated more resources before raiding.

This made sense too. When everyone's poor, even raiders become poor. So targeting people once they've become somewhat wealthy isn't a bad strategy.

I tapped the transport cart as I considered, then spoke.

"No. It's autumn. Not a season of harvest, but of famine. The city's resources will hit bottom, and there won't be any harvest to gain resources from."

If it had been spring or summer, I would have followed Sa Gi-hyeok's advice. That would have been more profitable. But it was autumn.

"This isn't a season for fattening up. It's a season for withering away. Today might be the wealthiest day we have left."

At those words, Sa Gi-hyeok bowed his head slightly, seemingly lost in thought. A murmur escaped him.

"That could be true. In that case, this business model isn't ideal. We should be quickly extracting resources like voice phishing scams, robbers, or thieves..."

At that muttered comment, the survivor's body stiffened slightly. Secretly tensed muscles and a posture ready to dash away. Rolling eyes searching for an escape route.

I grinned.

"We need to maintain the business. We can't harm our precious members, can we?"

Resources going to members? That didn't matter. Members were sheep within our fence, piggy banks where we deposited coins. Banks we could break if our resources ran out.

"Now, tell us about those people and guide us there."

***

Simple survivors were no longer our enemies. We could even save bullets. They surrendered as soon as we pointed guns at them.

We'd act like we wouldn't kill them, like we only wanted their supplies, disarm and bind them, then end it by smashing their heads with a hammer.

Even when guns were necessary, a pistol was enough.

The survivor who accompanied us through this process smartly took only a small amount of goods. They forfeited the increased incentive that came with their raised membership grade.

"I'll just take a small incentive. I'm already grateful that you dealt with these bastards."

"Won't that be insufficient?"

"No. It's plenty."

The survivor waved their hands fervently and bowed their head. Sa Gi-hyeok approached them and smiled amicably.

"Haha. Member. This makes us feel bad. I don't want to sound like I'm offering a replacement, but please tell us immediately if there's someone you want dead. We'll try to prioritize them."

"Yes, yes. Goodbye."

The survivor, having packed resources into a bag from the raided victims' home, left with hurried steps.

Only then did the mercenaries begin to speak up. Their voices mixed relief and joy.

"Still, we've filled the transport cart and have resources in bags too. We can last for days."

"If we work diligently, we'll earn more. Shall we work tomorrow too?"

I casually twirled my hammer. It was thickly coated with blood. I bent down and wiped it on a corpse's clothing.

"We have to work hard to survive. You all have families too. We can't starve."

Honestly, I had concerns.

Could we survive autumn this way? Even if we killed and raided every survivor in the stream area, could we obtain enough food for three months? Would we gain enough resources after harvesting the stream area and moving to another?

But these thoughts gradually sank beneath my consciousness. The future was too distant.

"We'll survive. Until when? Until there's no one left for us to raid."

I spoke lightly but sincerely. As long as we had bullets, as long as people remained in the world, raiding wouldn't stop.

The mercenaries slowly nodded. They were persuaded by their faith in me, by the profits and future I offered, by all of it.

These people were so busy surviving day to day that they had almost no long-term perspective anyway.

"Shall we return for today then?"

"Let's go. Walking becomes uncomfortable after sunset."

So we prepared to leave. A few mercenaries with shouldered rifles went first, followed by those carrying the transport cart and bags, with me taking up the rear.

Before leaving the house, I looked back.

Autumn colors had come to the house we'd left in ruins. Blood flowed from the corpses that had been confirmed dead by my hammer and the mercenaries' knives.

A season where people fell like leaves. A season where the world turned red. It was autumn.

***

Like a swarm of locusts, we left only corpses and ruins in our wake, but not everyone in the world was like us. Even in this world, there were people who created things with their hands.

The alliance. Somehow they'd obtained seeds and were running indoor farms, and they were even raising chicks from the fertilized eggs RiderZero had bought.

Furthermore, they seemed to have established communication with other regions using wireless equipment.

The military was similar. Despite once transforming into raiders and sweeping through the city outskirts, they were somehow salvaging typhoon-damaged farms and expecting at least a small harvest.

"They're really doing well."

I muttered, looking down at the map.

Human vitality is tenacious. It grows stronger when people gather. Not just combat strength, but knowledge synergy and production efficiency.

But how long could they last?

"They still must have insufficient production for their numbers."

We couldn't let our guard down. The alliance and the military were raiders just like us. They were people who would attack anytime if resources became scarce. The police, soldiers, archers, electricity nomads—they were all crazy.

I tapped the map with my finger.

'No matter how scarce resources become, they won't touch us for a while. Because we have guns.'

They'd probably target nearby survivors first. So let's think in reverse. Scorched earth tactics. If I cleared out the survivors around them first, wouldn't their burden increase?

As I was thinking this, someone entered my home. It was Do-hyung.

"Hey. We're running low on water."

"What? We just filled the water tank not long ago."

I blinked. Had we already run out of water?

Do-hyung looked at me incredulously.

"That was ages ago. It hasn't rained in quite a while. And how many people are here? We used it all up long ago, even conserving carefully."

"Really?"

I frowned and looked up at the ceiling.

Indeed, the distant future was hard to focus on. Problems arose every day. Do-hyung continued:

"From now on, we'll need to fetch water from the stream. We also need to think about gathering firewood. We've already burned all the unused furniture and trees near the house."

"This is getting annoying."

A season where we fully bore the consequences of destroyed infrastructure. Everything had to be prepared by hand, one by one. Water, fire, food.

I spoke slowly.

"But it's just annoying work. We can solve it with labor."

"That's true. Will you assign teams of mercenaries and families to fetch water and gather firewood?"

"Yeah, let's do that. Everyone needs to earn their keep."

This wasn't even a real problem. Compared to a pastor-like figure appearing, the military advancing, or the alliance going wild, this was light.

Do-hyung, who had turned to leave, hesitated and then spoke:

"Do you consider the mercenaries and their families as companions now?"

"I don't know. I'm an introverted person. We haven't spent enough time together to get that close."

I answered jokingly.

"But if we continue like this, maybe I'll eventually see them as true companions."

Actually, I didn't know. Distrust and suspicion were basic qualities of a raider, and no one knew what the future would bring.

Just then, Sa Gi-hyeok, who had been out working, entered my house with a bright voice.

"Got a good report! A teacher has gathered children and they're living together, not a small group!"

"...They must have plenty of resources?"

I picked up my hammer and stood up.