The Isan-dong Coalition

"B Group assembly complete." The short-haired man reported.

"We're moving out."

"Yes!"

The number of people in B Group had increased. They had finally started to actively secure their own safety. Currently, B Group had sixty-seven members. Even the tank team members who had become regular residents volunteered again. Today we would raid the police station and hunt special zombies and mutants. B Group could handle the normal zombies. There was a small police box nearby, but it was too insignificant. There wouldn't be anything useful there, so we had no choice but to head out on an expedition.

While moving, I checked on the towers that had reached max level. There were four Thorn Towers and one Sling Tower. I had upgraded the Thorn Towers into one Hunting Bow and three Light Crossbows.

'I need to prepare for hunting mutants.'

Bow towers were suitable for hunting regular zombies. However, crossbows offered far superior stopping power. The difference in accuracy couldn't be ignored either. After all, mutants moved at incredible speeds.

I examined the sling tower next. When I pressed the upgrade button, options for higher-tier towers appeared.

"As expected, it's another unique tower."

WAW's weapon system revolved around cold weapons. That was why I had researched various types before. Stone Bow referred to a stone-throwing crossbow. It had the same form as a regular crossbow but loaded rocks instead of bolts. It fired in an arc rather than a straight line, and a net was attached to the middle of the string.

The Bola Tower wasn't for killing but for capture. Stones were fastened to both ends of a rope. You spun the bola and hurled it at the target's legs, using instantaneous centrifugal force to wrap the line around them and trip them.

'I'll go with the Stone Bow Tower.'

If a bola could restrain a mutant, I would have chosen it without hesitation. But a bola wouldn't stop a mutant for even a tenth of a second. It might be enough to trip normal zombies, though.

On the other hand, the Stone Bow's destructive power would be outstanding. A single shot from the top of a high-rise building would probably explode a normal zombie's head.

We had already passed through the fire spirit zone, so we hadn't encountered any zombies yet.

"Zombies will start appearing from this area onward. Stay alert."

B Group nodded silently. Shields were already in their hands. They had prepared for survival without needing to be told.

I summoned towers onto the surrounding high-rises and used them to scout. Zombies were standing in the alleys and along the main roads, and silhouettes were visible inside the buildings.

"Pull aggro."

"Yes."

The large man stepped forward and banged on the steel plate.

Clang clang clang clang clang!

Immediately, the sound of running feet echoed.

"Everyone get ready!"

"Form up!"

"Hey! Stand so there are no gaps! You want to get dragged away?!"

The B Group veterans barked at the newcomers. The difference between veterans and newbies was absolute. It wasn't just levels; the gap in experience was beyond comparison.

Clang clang clang clang clang!

Countless shadows were sprinting toward us from between the buildings.

"Fuck, is this really going to be okay?!"

"We're not going to die, right?"

"I shouldn't have volunteered!"

The newbies were visibly shaken.

"Just watch."

A veteran jerked his chin at the newcomers as if to say, see for yourself.

Whiiish— thunk!

Starting with a single arrow, the front line of zombies collapsed.

Crunch! Stab! Thud! Whack! Thump!

As the zombies fell in droves, the faces of B Group brightened.

"See? That's why I said there wouldn't be any problems."

"No way."

"It really worked."

"Couldn't he have wiped them all out by himself?"

"Maybe."

Before the zombies that charged through the arrow barrage could reach B Group—

Groooan— crunch! Crack! Thud! Wham!

The Wooden Maul Tower swept the zombies away. Finishing off the ones whose bodies had been broken was easy even for the newbies.

"Smash their heads! Anything else is pointless!"

Crunch! Crack! Thud!

B Group maintained their formation to the end. They simply crushed the heads of the shambling zombies that charged at them.

"Moving out."

"Yes!"

The battles that followed were easy as well. We cleared out the occasional charging zombies and arrived at the police station.

"Who are those people?"

"Looks like they're here to loot the station like us."

"There are more of them than us?"

'They're fast. WAW users?'

When we reached the police station, other survivors were already there. Just as we had come to loot it, so had they. Police stations were prime farming spots. Protective gear like stab-proof vests was especially essential. Until the second wave, decent armor was hard to come by.

A tall man who seemed to be their representative approached.

"Who is the representative of your survivor group?"

"That would be me."

I got down from the fire truck and greeted him.

"I'm Lee Jinseong. Representative of the Isan-dong Coalition."

"I'm Kim Suhyuk."

"May I ask where your area is located?"

"Is there any need for me to tell you?"

"Ah… no, there isn't."

We exchanged greetings with nothing but eye contact. Shaking hands or bowing your head could get you stabbed in the back.

"By any chance… are you a WAW user?"

So he is a WAW user. There was no way a WAW user would stay quiet.

"That's right."

There was no reason to hide it. At best he would be nothing more than an ordinary user. Unless he had as much survival experience as I did, he couldn't even serve as a threat.

"Haha, what a coincidence. Running into each other right in front of the police station."

"What do you want to do?"

"Shall we split it in half?"

He was suggesting we divide the loot evenly.

"It took us several days to break through to this point. I hope you understand."

We had simply walked here in a single day.

"Then we'll split it in half."

"Thank you for your understanding."

Cases where opinions aligned this easily were actually quite rare. In WAW, all-out wars happened constantly. After all, death in the game didn't matter.

"Is that true?"

"Yes, of course. We distribute everything to the residents."

"You don't make them fight zombies?"

"Only volunteers fight, obviously. Just how have you people been living?"

Choi Changsoo from B Group heard a shocking story. He had assumed the other survivors' situations were the same.

"Excuse me for a moment."

Another person interrupted the conversation between Choi Changsoo and the Isan-dong resident.

"Does your side not distribute food?"

"The group that fights zombies receives it. Regular residents only get it if they perform special tasks."

"Hmm…"

The man who asked fell into thought.

The work proceeded smoothly. The coalition representative was smiling kindly and encouraging the workers. On the surface he looked like a good person. But I couldn't easily trust a WAW user.

I decided it was time to learn the skill tree I had in mind.

I opened the utility tab. It was High-Speed Summon, the skill that came after Command Execution Enhancement.

I tested it by summoning a Longbow Tower in a blind spot. It materialized almost instantly, as if the process had been sped up ten times.

'Nice.'

While I was at it, I learned the next skill in the tree as well: Increased Summon Range.

It used to be limited to a ten-meter radius around me. Now it reached a hundred meters?

The summoning range had increased dramatically. I hadn't expected the effect to be this good.

Someone rushed out from inside the police station and whispered into the coalition representative's ear. The representative's expression hardened, and he approached me.

"Mr. Kim Suhyuk, I have something to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Does your survivor group not distribute food supplies?"

"Of course we do."

He flinched at my answer and asked again.

"Why don't you?"

"I'd like to ask the opposite. Why should we distribute it?"

"This isn't a game! If you don't distribute food, people will starve to death!"

"Sigh…"

If you speak reasonably, people who insist on forcing their own ideas always pop up.

"If they don't want to starve, shouldn't they just fight the zombies?"

I held onto my patience one last time.

"There are those who cannot do that."

"That's not my concern. If they can't, they get culled."

"Then are you really letting the residents starve?"

"We're not starving them. That's why they aren't going out to find food."

He took a step closer.

"Could we take those residents with us?"

"Must you?"

"We will share our food with them."

Normally I would have told him to take them immediately. But right now I had work for the residents to do. I needed to receive proper compensation for guaranteeing their safety.

"Not at the moment."

"Later is fine."

"If you insist, I'll ask them."

"Good."

The coalition representative didn't look like he would back down easily.

"It's me. Gather the residents."

"Understood!"

I contacted Uncle Cart through the walkie-talkie. A moment later, a message came back saying everyone had assembled.

I first explained the coalition's proposal.

"Gather anyone who wants to change their residence."

After waiting a while, a reply came.

"I asked the residents."

"I see. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠When should we come to pick them up?"

"There is no need."

"Will you bring them yourself?"

"They all said they won't go."

The coalition representative opened his mouth in disbelief.

"Ha! That can't be true. If they aren't even receiving food distributions, there's no reason for them to stay, is there?"

"That's enough. Don't cross the line any further."

Only then did the representative calm his agitation.

"I got a little heated."

"It's fine. Now let's divide the supplies and be on our way."

"May I ask your people as well?"

The representative pointed at B Group.

'Persistent bastard.'

There were slaves mixed into B Group. If he wanted to take them, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could simply demand compensation.

"Go ahead and ask."

"Understood."

The coalition representative walked toward B Group.

"Everyone, would you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠consider joining the Isan-dong Coalition?"

"Excuse me? What are you talking about all of a sudden?"

"Our coalition distributes food without any cost."

B Group looked at one another, clearly unsettled by the sudden offer.

"Fighting zombies is left to volunteers. We will protect you."

His eyes shone with conviction. Choi Changsoo seemed tempted by the proposal.

"Is that true?"

"Of course."

"Then may I ask a question?"

"Ask me anything."

Choi Changsoo hesitated before speaking.

"Among the people who fight zombies for you… are you the strongest?"

"You can consider those people our representative combatants."

The coalition representative pointed at a group standing to one side. Trust was evident in his eyes.

"Will you join our coalition?"

"Ah, no. I'm sorry."

Choi Changsoo refused with an apologetic expression. The coalition representative stared at him blankly, as if he hadn't expected that.

"Why not?"

"Well… because life is the most important thing."

"I said we would protect you."

"Our current side looks much safer."

Choi Changsoo smiled awkwardly. The coalition representative was left speechless.

"Did you ask them everything?"

"I don't understand."

"We've finished dividing the supplies. Let's go our separate ways."

"Hmm… understood."

The coalition representative seemed to believe that larger numbers meant greater safety.

'Not even close.'

The Isan-dong Coalition would collapse by the second wave at the latest. There was no way they could survive the wave while dragging along a bunch of useless rabble with no combat ability. On top of that, they were wasting food pointlessly. The future was obvious.

This was exactly why emotional humans who put sympathy, humanity, and ethics first could not survive the apocalypse. Only those who discarded what needed to be discarded and seized what needed to be seized could survive. That was how I had survived WAW.

Still, I needed them. That was also why I was letting this pass so smoothly.

'Even if they die, the items won't disappear.'

When the coalition collapsed, I would go collect the items they had farmed.

"Just a moment."

Someone stepped between me and the coalition representative.

"Lee Geonwu? What's going on?"

"Our party will follow this man."

"What the hell are you talking about all of a sudden?!"

The man called Lee Geonwu approached me. He was quite large, clearly from working out.

"Will you accept our party?"

"Accepting you isn't difficult. However, you will have to join the combat group, not as regular residents."

"That's fine."

"Wait!" The coalition representative cut in.

"Why are you suddenly leaving the coalition?"

"We're leaving because the coalition's policy doesn't align with ours."

"What policy?"

"The one where you distribute food to people who don't fight."

The coalition representative's expression changed as if he'd been slapped.

"That's obvious! Are you telling me to let people starve?!"

"You already know that in the end, just like in WAW, everyone has to fight, don't you?"

"This isn't a game!"

For now there was still some leeway, so he scolded us by saying reality was different from the game. But I wondered how long that mindset would last. I had already watched countless idealists meet their downfall.

"The result ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠will be the same. So we're leaving."

Lee Geonwu called his party members over. There was a woman among them. Her face was hidden by the helmet, but her figure was unmistakable.

"Wait, you can't just leave. Leave the equipment behind!"

"Understood."

Lee Geonwu and his party members removed their gear—stab-proof vests and joint protectors. However, the woman didn't take off any of her equipment.

"Why isn't Lee Hana leaving her equipment?!"

"Lee Hana's equipment was hers from the beginning."

It was a tough black leather suit that zombies wouldn't be able to bite through. It was tight and elastic, perfectly revealing her model-like figure.

"Damn it, even Lee Hana…"

The coalition representative was fuming, unable to contain his anger.

"Collect all that equipment."

"Yes. Hey, come over here and pack everything."

"Got it."

"Hurry up!"

"I'm coming."

The coalition members who shuffled over began gathering the discarded gear.

'Their hierarchy is a complete mess.'

In the apocalypse, a leader didn't need to be a good person. All they needed was the power and ability to completely control the organization.

I examined the newly joined party. The woman named Lee Hana carried a long rapier at her waist. It was a narrow sword optimized for thrusting. Even someone like me, who had never properly held a sword before, could tell it was an excellent weapon.

'Where did she get something like that? Items shouldn't have dropped yet.'

Lee Geonwu, who had removed his helmet, extended his hand.

"Allow me to introduce myself properly once more. I'm Lee Geonwu. Please take good care of us."

"Sure. I'm Kim Suhyuk. Let me be clear in advance—don't expect any special treatment from me."

"Of course."

For the first time, someone with a properly functioning head had joined. As expected, WAW users were useful. As long as they were obedient.

The rest of the party members gave brief self-introductions.

"I'm Park Changsoo."

"I'm Kim Jungwoo."

"I'm Lee Changseok."

Finally, the woman named Lee Hana removed her motorcycle helmet and extended her hand. Her jet-black hair cascaded down like a waterfall.

"I'm Lee Hana."

"Pretty."

"Pardon?"

'Oops.' The words had slipped out before I could stop them.