My respected professor said that to prevent the apocalypse, we must use equally harsh methods. Of course, to survive the apocalypse, people must become more ruthless.

I decided to follow his teachings.

In the hopeless apocalypse, exceptional talent, luck, and willpower are needed to survive, since I was an aspiring screenwriter without survival skills and had no luck, I had to forcibly acquire ruthlessness.

'I need to find a temporary base.'

Driving a camper van and studying, I raised my head. The camper van's efficiency was decreasing due to the continuous traffic accidents and congested roads.

Moreover, the roads were becoming more dangerous as zombies were increasingly visible.

It was time to find a temporary base. Nomads move to find grazing land for their livestock, don't they? Minimizing outings and holding out in a safe building until resources run out is the right thing to do.

That safe building was naturally someone else's house.

"Jeon Do-hyeong. Let's ransack a house."

"...Whose house?"

Jeon Do-hyeong answered with a resolute voice. After meeting the professor, he had also contemplated something and completely acquired the spirit of a plunderer. No hesitation, no wavering.

"An old house. With an outdated door lock."

I quietly held a taser gun. By removing the cartridge, it can be used as a stun gun. Pulling the trigger, a blue lightning flashed.

"I found that old-fashioned door locks can be opened by electrifying them."

"So, where is that kind of house? Most door locks are modern these days."

I closed my eyes. A building came to mind. My former villa, an old building without an elevator, with a dilapidated staircase and an old door lock.

It's time to return to the place where I first killed a person.

"I'll give you the address."

20 days after the zombie outbreak.

The number of infected people has exceeded 700,000, and the number of zombified Awakeners has exceeded 100,000. I headed to the place where my life had been twisted.

***

Of course, it's not my own house. If I go straight there, the skilled informant, my neighbor, will immediately report to the police, saying that murderer with soap water has returned.

Returning to my own house is after dealing with the informant.

Instead, I chose the first three-story house that was definitely empty. The house of the young couple I had unintentionally killed. My downstairs neighbor.

Zzzzt-

The taser gun flashed. The old door lock could not withstand the power of the mighty lightning and obediently opened the door.

"..."

"..."

In the silence, the door creaked open.

The house where the young couple had lived had an eerie, abandoned atmosphere. It's been about 3 weeks since human hands touched it, so it's understandable.

The house was carpeted with dust, as if the apocalypse had passed through it. The newlyweds' photos were covered in thick dust.

As we carefully inspected the house, Jeon Do-hyeong whispered while pointing at the photos, "Aren't these people coming back? I mean, it looks abandoned, but..."

"No, they won't be coming back."

How could dead people come back? If they did, I might even cry. An apocalypse with returning corpses is just not real.

"How do you know that?"

"I killed them."

"...What?"

Jeon Do-hyeong, who had been whispering as if in someone else's house, raised his voice. He took a few steps back from me and opened his eyes wide, as if realizing something.

"Don't tell me... the ones you killed on the mountain were..."

"Similar, but they were zombies."

I glossed over the details. Let's just say they were zombies. Since they died from the soapy water I sprayed, they must have been zombies, right? Just like how someone who fails a test that a normal person can pass is not considered human.

Anyway, killing a few people is nothing in this world. Jeon Do-hyeong sighed deeply as he fiddled with his mask.

"You've been pressing the accelerator since the beginning of the crisis..."

"That's what it takes to survive. More importantly, let's check the resources first."

This was a house for a couple. I wonder how much food or other things they had.

We thoroughly searched the rooms and the balcony to check the resources. There was a sack of rice, the refrigerator was full of kimchi and side dishes, and there were some instant noodles, canned tuna, and Spam. There were also masks, probably prepared for dust or pollen.

"Ugh!"

During the search, we found a rice cooker and a pot covered in mold, but overall, the situation was not too bad. If we ration the food, it should last for about two weeks.

There was also a usable leather jacket.

Around this point, we put down the heavy bag we were carrying. The bag full of various equipment made a metallic sound as it hit the floor. The first thing we took out was something that looked like a spray bottle.

"Disinfection first."

We thoroughly sprayed the entire house with disinfectant. After that, we acted as if preparing for a disaster.

We stored as much water as possible, turned on the news, and started making the items we had planned.

We cut the leather jacket we found and hammered nails into it, creating a spiked dog collar-like item. The idea was to use the zombies' tendency to bite the neck against them.

Next, we cut and shaped pet bottles to create a hydroponic system to grow lettuce.

As the background to our tedious work, the news continued to play.

- The I-virus has been detected in all 64 sewage treatment plants nationwide...

"Has the diagnostic kit been released? Is the stock rising?!"

Jeon Do-hyeong, who was cutting the pet bottles with kitchen scissors, looked up, but no, it was not about the kit. They had used a virus cultivation method to detect it, not the kit.

The chaotic world facing an unexpected disaster, zombies, zombies, zombies... was shown on the screen. Footage of young students or internet broadcasters filming short videos of zombies, clashes between human rights groups and increasingly wary civic groups, and confusing news about politics, diplomacy, and the economy.

Suddenly, the screen changed to a funeral home, with cries echoing.

People who died in all kinds of accidents, those killed by zombies, and those who died after becoming zombies. Their bodies, unable to be properly stored, were scattered like trash in body bags.

And the bereaved families are afraid that the deceased may suddenly turn into zombies.

"..."

"..."

We stopped cutting the plastic bottles and just stared at the screen.

Gradually, fear, distrust, and conflict seemed to be spreading throughout society. Of course, it's still not enough.

'The recorded number of zombies is already 100,000. If each person has 10 family members, friends, and acquaintances, that's already 1 million people involved.'

There will be at least 1 million people opposing the killing of zombies. And people are also afraid that they may already be infected.

It's difficult to advocate for extreme measures when you don't know if you'll turn into a zombie tomorrow. Maybe if the majority start to believe in the doomsday scenario, the military might start to move.

Of course, the military is also in chaos...

- When the military loses 20% of its personnel, it's considered annihilation. But there are already many units where more than 20% of the personnel have shown symptoms.

A military being eroded by the virus. The military, with its closed environment and group living, is particularly more serious.

"It's really going to collapse..."

Jeon Do-hyeong said despondently. As I inserted the cut plastic bottles, I casually replied.

"How many times do you have to say the world is going to collapse?"

"I still can't quite believe it. Is this really possible? In this day and age?"

As if to deny Jeon Do-hyeong's doubts, the cry of a zombie was heard from outside the window. Curious, I approached the window and saw a zombie wandering around.

A passerby on the street saw the zombie from a distance and naturally turned around.

'...Can I use that zombie?'

I pondered for a moment. It was a continuation of the dilemma that had started on our way back to this villa.

A 4-story villa with a semi-basement and two units on the 1st floor. Should I sneak in at night and kill all the residents to take over the villa? Or should I use the zombies?

Or should I try to gather the villa residents and use them as a collective workforce to farm at home?

But the answer was clear.

'What collective? They might be infected too.'

Safety is the top priority. I just need to neatly secure the resources. There's no need to take the risk of recruiting talented people.

I put down the scissors and plastic bottles and picked up my phone to select a loud sound to attract the zombie's attention.

"Jeon Do-hyeong, let's use that zombie."

"How?"

"We need to take over this villa. Let's start by clearing out one more unit."

I briefly explained, and then we left the house.

***

'Around 30 years old?'

Inside the wide-open building entrance, we observed the zombie. The zombie was aimlessly wandering around, like a dog just walking around without any stimulation.

I found a loud alarm sound and placed my finger over the play button.

"Ready?"

"I'm ready, but this is the only cartridge. Are we really going to use it here?"

Jeon Do-hyeong shook the taser gun with the disposable cartridge. But I brushed it off casually.

"Don't hold back. If there's not enough, we can just raid the police later."

A master key is enough to get the job done.

I immediately pressed the play button, and put on the leather gloves stolen from the couple's house. A loud, unpleasant alarm sound blared out.

"Grrrr."

The zombie passing by the entrance turned its head towards us. Its expression becoming more distorted, crouching like it was about to pounce.

"Aaaaargh!"

The zombie opened its mouth wide and charged at us. Just as it stepped onto the stairs, Jeon Do-hyeong fired the taser gun. A popping sound like a balloon bursting, and the crackling sound of electricity.

That was the end of it. The zombie fell down with a thud.

"I'll drag it, you keep pulling the trigger."

"Okay."

I turned off the alarm sound with the volume control button, worried that the zombie's teeth might have broken. I dragged the zombie up to the 4th floor, where the female college student who had reported me lived - one of the culprits who had twisted my life from the very first day of this outbreak.

I gestured to Jeon Do-hyeong to open the door, with the zombie in my grasp.

Jeon Do-hyeong, trembling, gritted his teeth and moved. He pulled out the electrode pins, retrieved the cartridge, and shocked the electronic lock.

Click.

The door unlocked.

"Grrrk, aaaaargh!"

Without even checking inside, I shoved the struggling zombie in and quickly slammed the door shut. My heart was pounding. In the same building where I had accidentally killed someone, I was now actively choosing to kill.

No longer just a regular person frantically dealing with the situation, but a proactive looter in the apocalypse.

I leaned my head against the entrance, just like the day I had overheard my neighbor's call to the police.

Sounds came from inside - a thud as the enraged zombie destroyed something, a woman's scream, faint lecture sounds from an online class. Approaching footsteps towards the entrance.

I gestured to Jeon Do-hyeong to block the door with his weight, to prevent it from opening.

Drenched in cold sweat, Jeon Do-hyeong moved limply, like a doll, leaning his body against the door next to me.

Boom! The door shook.

"Help! Someone, call the police! Zombie! Aaaaargh!"

I pressed against the door with stiff joints. Somehow, I felt like laughing, and bit my tongue.

The situation had reversed. Back then, I had begged not to be reported to the police, to have the door opened.

The door shook a few times, then fell silent.

Thud, the sound of someone collapsing. Crunch, the sound of chewing flesh. I slowly stepped away from the door. The cold entrance had made my body temperature drop, but now it was rising again.

'One down. Seven more houses to go?'

My house, the college student's house, and the couple's house were now mine. Just need to take care of the rest, and an entire villa with 10 houses and their resources will be under my control.

I suddenly felt a sense of lightness.

20th day since the zombie outbreak.

I had gone from being a passive person buffeted by the disaster to an active survivor, and had succeeded in taking revenge and made progress in securing a stronghold. Everything was going well.