Day 45 of the zombie outbreak.

The number of zombies has exceeded 1 million, and the number of infected has reached 3 million. The world is gradually falling apart, like a rising tide, a flood approaching, or a domino effect.

But there was still hope.

***

Boom! Creak!

The church is busy. Many people are bustling in and out, building barricades at the entrance and on the staircase landings using desks and chairs from the study room and other useless furniture.

"Yes, please leave just a small passage for people to pass through, and arrange it so that it can be quickly blocked in an emergency! Even narrower!"

I gestured to the people, sweating profusely.

The church where the pastor was murdered by the wicked elder has become a survival community where the families of the elders and some believers have gathered.

Naturally, the church building has also been completely transformed into a full-fledged fortress.

Men and women, young and old, work. The stronger ones, like me, turned the building into a fortress or set up traps in the grounds, while those who lacked the strength were farming or making tools out of plastic bottles and sidewalk blocks.

"Deacon Kwon, isn't it too narrow?"

A female college student dressed in a spring-like outfit tilts her head. According to Jeon Do-hyeong, she is a friend of the informant who was killed by the zombies and has decided to stay in the community of hope.

I looked at the staircase landing, which was narrow enough to only allow passage sideways, and shook my head.

"If it's inconvenient for people, it will also be inconvenient for zombies. This is good. If zombies suddenly come, it will be easy to block them."

"...Zombies are scary."

Her face darkened, perhaps recalling her friend who was bitten and killed by a zombie in her home.

I smiled at her and pointed upstairs.

"If you have time, go upstairs and plant some tomatoes in the PET bottles."

"It's boring with just the ajummas."

"Even if it's boring, you have to work. Those are the crops that will go into your own mouth."

Those who don't work are useless to the community. They will be zombie food.

Of course, it was just an imagination. As a community, even assassination was unrealistic. At most, they would be assigned dangerous missions. Unlike small-scale marauders, there were many restrictions.

That's when it happened.

"The installation is finished-"

Jeon Do-hyeong came in, saw me and the female college student, and jumped in fright. In his hand, he held a rope that fluttered as he jumped.

"Wh-what, what, to her, what."

"Dohyeong?"

The female college student struggled to pass through the narrow staircase landing and approached Jeon Do-hyeong. It seems they have become quite close.

Jeon Do-hyeong looked at me with a face that was trying to hide his anxiety. I blinked. Why is he acting like that? As if a murderer suddenly appeared next to his friend.

I slowly went down.

"Are you done? Let me take a look."

"Yes, it's done. Uh, what were you talking to Yejin about?"

"Who's Yejin?"

At Jeon Do-hyeong's swallowing of saliva and my puzzled reaction, the female college student pouted.

"Don't you even know my name? I introduced myself last time."

"Ah."

Now that I think about it, I think I heard it before. Was it Yejin?

Anyway, there's no need to remember the name of someone who isn't worth it. Her major probably wasn't related to the apocalypse, and her character seemed unsuitable for a marauder.

The three of us walked together. Yejin grumbled to Jeon Do-hyeong.

"Deacon Kwon keeps nagging me to keep working."

"Of course you have to work!"

"But I worked hard on the posters! I stayed up all night and just got to rest today!"

Ah, now I remember. Posters? Design? She must have been working hard on the community's hope posters under the elder Jeon.

A thought suddenly crossed my mind.

'The community is a community. But I want to have my own marauder-like logo.'

I'll take it from the I logo of Immortal Company. Immortal, doesn't that sound good? Even in the apocalypse, I will be immortal.

Jeon Do-hyeong's face turned pale as he looked at my expression. A trembling voice came.

"If you don't work, you'll die."

"What nonsense is that? Why would someone die just for taking a day off? Right, Deacon Kwon?"

I snapped out of it.

"Yes, a day or so is fine. People aren't machines, they'll break down if they keep working. More importantly, the site looks good."

Ignoring the laughing Yejin and the muttering Jeon Do-hyeong about a day off, I looked around. The low and elongated church building a little distance away, the not-so-small parking lot, the roadside trees and streetlights scattered around.

Aside from the people squatting and diligently digging the ground to plant something, and a few zombies who had come too close and got killed, basic traps had been set up.

Ropes.

Ropes and red strings obtained from tearing down banners on the road were hung at ankle or neck height.

'It's a pity there are no bear traps.'

I've done my best. If lucky, they'll trip and get seriously injured, and if a zombie wave comes, they'll fall over in a chain reaction.

Can't stop people, but if people have bad intentions, it's impossible to stop them anyway.

Around then, Elder Jeon, who had gone outside, came over. The grim-faced Elder Jeon waved at me.

Several posters that Yejin had made were waving as if signaling.

"Deacon Kwon! You worked hard!"

"No, the elder Jeon who went outside worked harder."

The streets are so dangerous. There were already a few zombies that had approached the people farming. Walking around the streets is a life-threatening action.

But the administrative elder shook his head.

"No. Deacon Kwon filled in for the pastor's absence. I actually doubted whether we needed to do this much, but after a few days, Deacon Kwon was right."

"No! It's really not like that. It's thanks to the efforts of the elders..."

I opened my eyes wide and waved my hands vigorously. Does the administrative elder have ill intentions towards me? Why is he trying to kill me?

The pastor had already shown it. The leader of the group can easily become the enemy. They become the top assassination target.

'Why did I leave the elders!'

Like a council, having multiple elders as the highest decision-makers is to distribute the risk like meat shields. But they shouldn't make me an object of vigilance here.

Am I becoming the second pastor? If someone tries to attack the community of hope, won't they attack me first?

Of course, with multiple leaders, the risk of betrayal and mischief is also great, but if that happens, I'll be the first to do it.

Elder Jeon smiled contentedly.

"Deacon Kwon, the security elder should have a bit of your personality too..."

The atmosphere became heavy for a moment.

It was because of the wicked security elder who tried to assassinate the pastor and even steal the bullets from the pastor's gun to plan the perfect crime.

Jeon Do-hyeong's faith was shaken and he trembled, and I folded my hands in prayer.

"The pastor has passed away, but we remain, don't we? Let's continue the hope he dreamed of."

"That's right... Even though the pastor is gone, we have to stay strong for the sake of the remaining family."

Elder Jeon handed me the posters.

The posters that Yejin had diligently made had a public service announcement feel. Instead of a cross, there were posters introducing the community of hope. Or information on using plastic bottle farming or prying up paving blocks as thrown weapons, and planting potatoes or turnips in the bare ground.

"Rather than evangelizing or gathering people, we're focusing on introducing ourselves to the people around us."

We headed towards the church, and along the way, Elder Jeon described the outside world.

"The world wasn't like this even a month ago..."

The streets he described were almost apocalyptic.

Dirty roads with garbage or filth, broken first-floor glass windows of cars parked, and armed people wandering around.

Due to the experience of being attacked by a madman who was after firearms, the police who were roaming around had no interest in maintaining order.

Above all, zombies were seen very commonly.

Of course, the citizens have also changed.

The world seems to have become more dangerous, so there are vigilante groups popping up here and there. There are a lot of merchant associations the commercial areas, and there are security guards in every apartment complex. I've also talked to delivery service vigilantes, archery clubs, and those kinds of people.

I nodded. This was also in the professor's materials.

In the early stages of the apocalypse, people will form various organizations. And when groups proliferate, conflicts are bound to arise.

The resources in the city are limited, and they will fight over the limited resources.

"Is it possible to buy arrows from the archery club?"

"I asked about that too, but they said it's absolutely not possible."

What a pity. Arrows without noise. Arrows that turn into biochemical weapons even if just coated with zombie saliva or blood. If the archery club members are armed with virus-tipped arrows and attack, it would be disastrous.

I suddenly thought of a porcupine.

'It seems like you need to be armed with dangerous weapons so as not to fight. At the very least, you need to make sure they don't dare to attack the church stronghold.'

Sprinklers? Engine-powered water pumps, tanks filled with zombie corpses. Wide-range spraying. Wouldn't that be perfect to threaten anyone who tries to invade?

Or is it not enough compared to the immediate threat of death?

Around that point, we arrived at the church. My fellow elder and I sat in the front, and we waited for the other elders to return from their tasks.

I gestured to Jeon Do-hyeong and Na Ye-ji to go back.

"Now go back and work."

"But it's my day off. Can't I just watch the meeting?"

"Hey, hurry up and go. If you stay here, I'll give you another task."

Jeon Do-hyeong dragged Na Ye-ji away. There seemed to be a sense of urgency, but it might just be my.

The elder missionary smiled.

"That Na Ye-ji? I heard she was depressed because her friend died, but it's good to see her looking brighter."

"Time must be the healer."

And one by one, the other elders returned after finishing their tasks.

The administrative elder came first, holding some documents.

"I've done the headcount, assigned the rooms, and made a guard duty schedule. I really had a hard time dealing with all the demanding people."

The community has been transformed like a military barracks.

The elder who looked like a thief also came in, looking exhausted to death.

"I've made a list of the stockpiled food. And I also went out and bought various other things."

When he said "various other things," he looked at me.

It seemed to imply that he had gotten the things I had requested, like an oil-draining pump or a flashlight with fingerprint display.

"Why didn't you call your daughter? You even gave her a gun."

"I did call her. But it seems she's already gathered with her college friends. It was a good call to give her the gun."

"Well, it was good you did, or she might have been mistaken for a criminal."

We chatted like that, and then started a more serious discussion.

"The stockpiled resources are not that abundant. Even if we order things by expensive courier, the chances of them not arriving are higher. We'll have to keep going out."

"heard those delivery service vigilantes are doing something."

"How can you believe that?"

I kept my mouth shut.

Unless it's related to core interests or safety, I actually have nothing to say. I don't want to draw unnecessary attention either. Mere existence is a threat.

"There's also the issue of bathing. Even if we make temporary shower stalls in the bathrooms, it's still..."

"Can't we convert a whole floor into a bathroom-shower area?"

As various discussions went on, Elder Jeon let out a long sigh.

"The biggest problem is, the morale of the people isn't that high."

"...Since the pastor passed away."

Even the grandmother had given up her elder position and disappeared somewhere.

The people were that demoralized. They wouldn't even resist much if the church was turned into a community. They're just the ones who have nowhere else to go or stayed due to trivial connections.

There was no strong motivation.

I closed my eyes and recalled the pastor. An outstanding leader, a master of staging. Unfortunately, the pastor was not here, and I could only pray for hope.

People with low morale, shaken faith, and fading unity.

The hope to lift them up and bind them together.

'For example, a zombie wave?'

If we all join forces to defeat a horde of zombies, it might be good for mental health. After all, don't they say to create an external enemy to unite the internal?