The Synergy of Faith and Exploitation
Day 35 of the Hope Zombie Outbreak. I witnessed with my own eyes the greatness of slavery and the division of labor. The potential of a group, too. *** The synergy between the professor’s knowledge and a cult was beyond imagination. ‘Wow, the efficiency…’
I peered through the narrow glass window in the door. It used to be a study room for high schoolers or something—some kind of club space for students—but now a bunch of middle-aged women were gathered inside, diligently making recycled planters. It was practically a factory. While humming hymns, one person cut plastic bottles, another assembled them, someone else added soil, and yet another planted seeds. It was on a completely different level from the clumsy things Jeon Dohyeong and I had made.
I clenched my fist tightly. This was hope. This was the future. Making others labor while I reaped only the results—this was true sustainable living.
‘Is this the ultimate form of plunder? Stealing people’s time and labor?’
As that thought crossed my mind, someone tapped me on the back. It wasn’t Jeon Dohyeong.
“Deacon Kwon Dain. Shall we check the rooftop? The task you requested earlier has been completed.”
It was some nameless middle-aged man. He was one of the elders the Pastor had appointed, the kind who carried a pistol at his waist. He seemed like a guide for the church building and an usher who introduced people around. Though he might actually be watching and monitoring me.
I smiled brightly at once. The religious tone I’d been diligently practicing flowed out naturally.
“Yes, Elder. It’s always heartwarming to see the brothers and sisters working together in unity.”
I was like a rolling stone positioned somewhere between ordinary believers and the powerful elders, so I had to blend in well with everyone. That’s how I toured various rooms, watching the believers farming, before finally heading up to the rooftop.
It was a small church, so three stories was the end of it. Aside from the tall neon cross that rose like a clock tower, it wasn’t particularly high.
Under the sunset sky and against the strong wind, I scanned the surroundings. Then I walked over to the concrete blocks piled thickly along the parapet.
“Looks like they’ve collected and moved all the sidewalk blocks.”
“The brothers put in a lot of effort.”
I leaned my head out over the edge of the rooftop. The roads where people used to walk were now stripped bare. Some kind of sandy dirt covered the ground in long stretches. That soil seemed like a waste. The sidewalk blocks had been prepared for a siege in case zombies swarmed in, but that dirt looked like it could be used for something too.
“Do you think we could grow some herbs on that dirt ground?”
If we grew perilla leaves or mugwort, wouldn’t that yield at least something? Even if this church collapsed, the plants would survive.
The elder frowned and gave me a sidelong glance.
“Well… I’ve never tried farming, so…”
His eyes seemed to say, You’re the disaster preparedness expert—how would I know? I smoothly deflected that suspicion.
“I didn’t study agriculture professionally either. Still, it’s a shame to waste the space.”
The church grounds had a decent-sized parking lot and resting areas, streetlights fitted with broadcast speakers. Shallow flowerbeds wrapped around the building instead of a proper fence. It was sorely lacking. In my ideal scenario, I’d want to install razor wire and traps everywhere… but we didn’t have the resources, nor the manpower to carry out major construction. Above all, the Pastor had opposed anything that would make it difficult for the elderly believers to come and go.
“I’d like to set up some barricades at least… but we can’t go against the Pastor’s wishes. Ah. Isn’t it time for the meeting?”
“Right. We almost ran late. Let’s hurry.”
The elder’s eyes suddenly sparkled with religious fervor as he spun around quickly. I followed after him at once. A satisfied smile crept across my face.
‘Anyway, this church group is useful.’
A tightly unified organization under the Pastor. I was a newcomer, yet there was almost no conflict. Everything was done by the Pastor’s command, so as long as their faith was the same, they didn’t fight among themselves. Joining them had been the right choice.
The meeting took place in the chapel before the service began. The Pastor stood on the platform, looking down at the elders seated in the front rows. Since this wasn’t the spot where he preached to the congregation, a relaxed smile played on his lips.
“Another fulfilling day.”
“It’s all thanks to you, Pastor.”
After some meaningless small talk, the actual meeting began. The elder in charge of supplies, the one handling administrative work, the one responsible for quarantine and security—various elders in charge of different duties shared updates. The Pastor listened seriously, occasionally nodding and offering a few words.
Soon his gaze turned to me.
“Deacon Kwon Dain. You’ve truly been of great help. I’m always grateful.”
“Not at all. Serving you, Pastor, is the joy of my life.”
The elders nodded with pleased expressions. I could hear murmurs praising how deep Brother Kwon Dain’s faith was. It was proof that I had blended in that well.
“So, Deacon Kwon Dain. What more should we do moving forward?”
“Aside from steadily stockpiling long-term storable food and maintaining our quarantine measures…”
I shook my head slightly.
“Installing an emergency generator or solar panels would be good, but under the current circumstances, it seems too difficult.”
“Indeed. It’s unfortunate.”
The Pastor let out a sigh. The zombie outbreak was growing worse by the day. Noisy, time-consuming construction was hard to manage right now. Even if they tried, the construction companies were apparently fully booked. Too many people were only now starting to prepare.
I thought for a moment before speaking.
“For the time being, it would be best to maintain the status quo while observing how the world develops. We should continue purchasing food and quarantine supplies.”
I could have suggested recruiting more deacons to build a deacon faction or proposed more aggressive measures—like hunting unbelievers or looting—but I held back to avoid raising the Pastor’s suspicions. The church as it was now satisfied me enough. There was no rejection or wariness.
“Then, Deacon Kwon, please give the elder the list of necessary items. We’ll purchase and stockpile them as the church budget allows.”
The Pastor pointed to one of the elders as he spoke. Then something occurred to me, and I raised my hand as if making an announcement.
“Ah. There’s one suggestion I’d like to make.”
The Pastor, who had been about to wrap up the meeting, looked at me. Since all the elders were now watching, I voiced a proposal laced with my own greed.
“Street evangelism has become difficult now, hasn’t it?”
“That’s true. Many of our evangelism team brothers and sisters have been injured because of the unbelievers.”
As zombies increased, the streets had grown dangerous. The old method of shouting and grabbing people for evangelism carried too much risk. There was a better way.
“How about promoting recycling farming methods and sidewalk block collection under the name of Hope Church and the Pastor? It will reach far more people than before.”
This was purely for my own benefit. If many people saved their long-term food supplies and grew plants in pots at home, I could loot them all later. In other words, I’d temporarily entrust farming to many people and later claim the harvest for myself.
The Pastor pondered briefly, then checked his wristwatch.
“That’s a good idea. In these difficult times, to reach those filled with worry, we need an appropriate method. Discuss it with the elder in charge of evangelism. But first, let’s finish the service.”
Clap, clap. The Pastor clapped his hands.
“Let’s prepare for worship.”
“Aigoo. Looks like all the brothers and sisters are here. Our Deacon Kwon and this… what was his name again? Jeondo? Jeondo brother, please keep watch outside for a bit.”
The grandmother in charge of the attendance log and disinfectant let out a weary sigh as she entered the chapel. The door slammed shut with a bang.
As the person responsible for safety management, my role during the service was to stand outside and watch for approaching zombies. I glanced at Jeon Dohyeong.
He had been grumbling about wanting a plausible title like deacon, but now his face looked somewhat pale as he stared only at his toes. I’d expected him to complain again after hearing his name mixed up, but…
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, you see…”
I wasn’t particularly interested, so I focused on my own task. Recording a video with my phone. The subject was the attendance log—a treasure map densely packed with names, numbers, and addresses. Honestly, just taking this and running would be a huge gain, but I believed in the church’s potential and only recorded it.
Jeon Dohyeong’s gloomy voice reached me.
“I talked to a woman here once.”
“Romance?”
If it was anything other than romance, it might be worth listening to, but a love problem really wasn’t. As I flipped through the pages, something I couldn’t simply brush off slipped out.
“It’s not that. That… we killed that woman, didn’t we?”
Who was he talking about? The married one? The female cop? The college girl next door? I looked at Jeon Dohyeong with puzzled eyes. His legs were trembling.
“She must have been that dead girl’s friend. She was taking online classes when she got bitten by a zombie and died. She was such a good friend, the kind who couldn’t even tell a single lie. She kept crying, asking why such a good person had to die like that.”
Ah. That whistleblower. But a zombie killed her. We just put the zombie in and blocked the door. Those words almost burst out, but I swallowed them quickly. I couldn’t say something like that right now. Yet no suitable response came to mind either.
Why are you so hung up on something that’s already over? What was that woman’s name? Let’s find her in the attendance log and loot her place. Only words completely inappropriate for the situation kept surfacing.
Fortunately, Jeon Dohyeong reached his own conclusion.
“It just… feels a bit heavy on my heart. Yeah. I couldn’t even say a single word to that friend. Just… just…”
“…Still, she came to the Pastor’s side, didn’t she? She’ll live well now. As you can see, this church is excellent.”
I barely managed to find some appropriate words. Jeon Dohyeong gave a faint, weak smile.
“Right? Maybe God really does exist. He gave a path to a friend drowning in sorrow like this.”
He assumed a prayer posture that had become quite familiar to him and closed his eyes. It felt like a drop of black ink falling into a cup of clear water—his faith settling in. Even I felt my mind slowly tilting from living in the church, so Jeon Dohyeong must be even worse off.
And then the blackout came.
It was time for the service to begin. The time when the world was swallowed by darkness.
“…It’s really dark.”
We stood quietly, watching the city fall into blackout. A world without light or sound. A world lit only by moonlight no longer seemed like the modern society we knew. Especially since zombies lurked in that darkness.
‘In another month, the city will turn into wilderness.’
I recalled the street scenes I had seen. Roads where the functions that maintained the city were slowly breaking down. Trash was beginning to pile up, and sometimes corpses lay sprawled on the streets. Human presence was gradually disappearing.
Of course, hope still existed. For example, this church.
I slowly pressed my ear against the chapel door and eavesdropped on the service. The Pastor’s voice came through faintly.
“Satan has sent a wave of plague! Water and flying creatures! Satan’s virus stains God’s creations, so we must rely solely on faith—”
I smiled with satisfaction.
‘He’s using apocalyptic rhetoric well. It’s starting to feel a bit more like a cult now.’
Wasn’t it most gratifying when the person who received a gift cherished and used it well? This Pastor might not be the chairman’s rival, but he was certainly a talent capable of surviving in the era the chairman had created.
‘I’ll stockpile long-term food at my place and use it as a sub-base, make the church my main base, and live off other people’s resources for now.’
The more bases, the better, right? If the situation turned dangerous or resources ran low, I could simply move. The villa, the church, the camping car, the shelter I built on the mountain. And further, the houses I could loot using the attendance log. I was drawing a map in my head when—
Bang—!
A gunshot rang out. It wasn’t just once. Slowly, more shots followed. From inside the chapel.
Jeon Dohyeong and I hurriedly opened the wooden door and rushed in. There stood the Pastor with zombie blood splattered across his face, and the elder who must have pulled the trigger, all under the candlelight. Several zombie corpses were faintly visible.
The Pastor spoke.
“Satan is persecuting us. He seeks to trample the hope that we are—the ones who will overcome them. Everyone, let us pray.”
With blood on his face, the Pastor closed his eyes and clasped his hands. From all around came prayers filled with emotion.
The Pastor holding a cross and the elder personally beating zombies to death—a performance. The atmosphere of the chapel and the staging were enough to captivate even the faithless.
I stared blankly at the scene, then felt suspicion surging up from within my heart. The suspicion and faith that church life had planted in my mind.
‘Is it real? Is the Pastor truly the chairman’s rival? Is he the clue to stopping the apocalypse?’
If so… then forget joining or profit—
I had to kill him.
Faith had ignited murderous intent.