Knife Rampage (2)

The line for relief supplies stretched out pretty long. How long had it been since I'd seen so many people? I was even a bit impressed. There were still this many humans left!

Guess the survival rate is higher than I thought.

No, maybe that was a cruel way to think about it. In a country that once had 50 million people, this was all that showed up. Anyway, I slowly scanned the surroundings.

No particularly suspicious types around.

Was this what it looked like when refugees got their rations? No one seemed relaxed. Still, there was no hostility. These were people sharpened by the need to survive. They were probably upstanding citizens before all this. Seeing that scene put me a little at ease.

In a crowd this big, weirdos pulling off something crazy would be rare.

Maybe I was just being nosy after all. I'd even worn a mask and sunglasses just in case. No signs of any terror attack. The place felt peaceful. Though the kid who locked eyes with me burst into tears... probably just my imagination.

That's when it happened, as I stood off to the side, not in line, just looking around.

"Excuse me, mind if we have a word?"

"Pardon?"

Suddenly, a group of guys in suits approached me. What the hell? You're scaring me, back off. If it were a battlefield, fine, but this shut-in wasn't ready for small talk out of nowhere. My stomach was already churning from all the people.

"We got a report of a suspicious guy scouting the area for a crime."

"W-Wait, you mean me? I didn't do anything!"

Could there be anything more unjust? I was just wearing a mask and sunglasses to hide my face. Wondering where a perp might strike, how I'd pull off a terror attack if I were one. I hadn't done anything shady!

"Yeah, yeah, we get it. Just cooperate for now."

"Why should I?"

"It's the situation, you know? Show us your bag first."

"There's nothing in my backpack!"

I poured out my innocence with all the grievance I could muster. But the more I did, the graver their faces got. Why are humans creatures who understand each other less the more honestly they talk? Truly a sad state of affairs.

"Anyway, let us see the bag. Won't take long."

"No. That's my privacy."

"......You've been acting shady from the start. You hiding something?"

"You treating me like a terrorist?"

"There's a terror threat post up on the gallery right now! Cooperate, or we'll have to use force."

"Ah, I'm innocent, I tell you!"

A slight scuffle broke out between the guy grabbing for me and myself. My backpack hit the ground.

-Thud!

A heavy metallic clang anyone could recognize. Silence spread like when an outcast cracks an awkward joke in class. People started edging away. Why was I being treated like a plague carrier? The virus hadn't reached Seoul yet, had it?

"Grab him! Get this guy!"

"Ah, come on. I'm telling you, it's a misunderstanding!"

"We've got a terrorist here...!"

Here I was, sacrificing my body to stop a terrorist, and the world wouldn't understand me. Another truly sad affair.

"We're truly sorry!"

At the relief distribution headquarters, the person in charge bowed deeply to me. There'd been a slight misunderstanding that got me pegged as a terrorist. But when I showed them the list of gallery posts I'd cleaned up myself, it cleared up. Especially my post 'Tomb of Mother and Child'—turns out it was pretty famous. Surprisingly, the head recognized me.

"Sorry! We were on edge prepping for terror threats, so the misunderstanding..."

"Nah, it's fine. Thinking back, I did act kinda suspicious."

More than that, those guys had taken more hits than me. They wouldn't demand compensation, right? It was 3-on-1, and anyone seeing their pathetic, tail-between-legs puppy-dog looks wouldn't think I'd beaten them one-sidedly.

"If anything, sorry for causing a needless fuss."

"Haha... If you'd at least taken off the sunglasses, we might not have suspected."

"I'm shy around people."

Crowds make my heart race. How do you even talk to strangers? That's why I became a shut-in, anyway.

"Sorry once more. Citizens are already trembling in fear..."

"You saw the terror threat on the gallery, huh."

"Well, we're just patrolling as best we can."

The head let out a deep sigh.

"This relief event is to give people hope. A terror attack here would put us in a tough spot."

So the government hadn't fully abandoned ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the peninsula after all. Since things had gone this far, maybe I should hear the government's side straight from the horse's mouth.

"Doesn't look like you have a ton of staff. Must be tough."

"Well, it's this world now. Grateful just to be alive. Oh, here for supplies?"

"Nah, pass. Let someone else have it."

"Pardon? But..."

"Wasn't here to get anything anyway."

"Then why come all this way?"

"Just to spectate if a real knife rampage went down."

The head stared at me like I was nuts. What? You were apologizing earlier. I half-thought about grabbing some as a souvenir when I first came, but seeing the situation changed my mind.

"To my eyes, the supplies look blatantly insufficient. Or am I wrong?"

"Well..."

"Be honest. This country won't last a year—hell, not even half."

The head just gave a bitter smile at my question. The number of people gathered here. The piles of supplies. No matter how you sliced it, not enough to go around.

"......Korea always stockpiles a certain amount of resources for disasters."

"Heard that somewhere."

"But this government took most of it when they fled to Jeju. Government officials and some corporate bigwigs who knew about it got their hands on it first, and zombies swarmed the exposed stockpiles."

"......"

Total disaster. Resources already too scarce to fix the situation. The ones hoarding them eating their fill first. Then zombie hordes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠devouring whatever food they could find. No way to distribute it all to starving citizens.

But spilling all this to outsiders.

They probably harbored massive resentment themselves. The government fled to Jeju ahead of time. These folks were stuck in Korea. Left behind under the guise of cleanup. No authority, no power. Yet they had to play government reps. Basically, scapegoats for public rage. No wonder they were seething openly.

"Zombies and food shortages are immediate problems. It's okay for now—hunting and foraging are possible."

"But winter's coming soon."

"How many will freeze or starve then? Honestly, this country's already done for."

......I'd thought these supplies were hope. But that was wrong. This was just the last supper. Or government PR. The world still hungered for more corpses.

The dry chew of that boxed sandwich stuck in my throat again.

"......Why not grab it all and run? Enough there for one person to survive easy."

"How could we?"

The head's gaze turned to the line of people, the starving citizens. His voice even cracked a little.

"It's all theirs in the end."

I think I got why this guy was left on the peninsula.

Bitter taste in my mouth. The head insisted on handing me supplies anyway. Barely enough for a few days. My backpack had more emergency rations.

Should've stayed home.

People and outings do nothing good for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my life. Just sours the mood.

I sat for a bit, watching the line. Then commotion erupted from one side.

"Kyaaah!"

"M-Mommmy!"

"Terror! Terror attack!"

My already shitty mood plunged negative. People fleeing in panic. I stood slowly and headed that way.

"Die! Die! Die, you bastards!"

Some guy swinging a knife wildly. Someone collapsed, bleeding. No direction to his blade's killing intent. Just rage and emotion, slashing at random like he didn't care who got ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hit. Eyes, stance, grip—all a mess.

"Haa."

As everyone else ran, putting distance, I approached.

"What're you—gurk!?"

I slammed a kick into the guy's solar plexus. The knife clattered to the ground. I walked up slow and kicked his face again. He crumpled. Didn't kill him—someone else could handle the aftermath. Plenty of staff around.

Just as I finished and turned to leave.

"Fucking hell, the line's all messed up now. If you're gonna catch him, do it faster."

I glanced over involuntarily. The ajumma startled and melted into the crowd. I walked off slow, leaving the scene.

People and I just don't mix.

That night, the gallery buzzed about me.

Praise posts and comments everywhere. Made me feel oddly proud. Me... it wasn't even a big deal. Everyone overreacting. Hahaha!

But not all good vibes.

......Why's this guy still kicking.

The knife warning poster. And the actual stabber. Totally different people. So the threat post was just a prank, as expected. I'd guessed from location tracking anyway.

Why the hell pull shit like this.

Wasted my precious time on these idiots. Thought about hunting the poster down myself at first. But dropped it.

Like that knife thing was just the opener. Tons of terror threats popping up. Real or fake? Our trash world had too much crap to worry about every single one.