Marauder of the Apocalypse
Chapter 118: Moving

We rummaged through the storage room that was being used as a supply closet.

There was a large container of kimchi that had been scavenged from somewhere, and expired ramen noodles. There was also some amateurishly smoked meat. Meat that looked like it came from a dog or sparrow.

There were quite a few different kinds of soap, probably collected from various bathrooms, along with masks that seemed to have been gathered for recycling.

Park Yang-gun, who had been wandering around the room, sifted through some ashes or garbage and chuckled.

"Chestnuts? Did they get these from the mountains?"

Chestnut shells that seemed to have been peeled with a knife. Looked like they'd been roasting chestnuts.

'Seems like they've been hunting and gathering.'

Autumn had arrived after spring and summer. Like the changing seasons, people had changed too. With urban resources hitting rock bottom, surviving on scavenging alone had become difficult, so they'd reverted to primitive living.

Picking fruits and hunting animals.

In some ways, they might be better suited for survival than raiders like me. They avoided dangerous situations, ran away quickly, and obtained food from nature.

Perhaps better than raiders who risked their lives fighting every day just to steal other people's food...

As I pondered this while organizing the storage resources, I suddenly noticed something odd.

"There are no canned goods or salt. There should be rice too."

"Haha. They must have kept those ready to grab at any moment. Look how they took their time gathering their storage supplies."

Is that so? Well, they would have prepared a few survival bags to flee at any time, so they must have packed essential resources in those bags.

The thought crossed my mind that I should make a survival bag too. Just in case my companions staged a rebellion. After all, if we looked at our predecessors, the pirates, didn't they face mutinies?

Sa Gi-hyeok staggered unsteadily as he moved supplies, then smiled happily.

"Still, the yield is pretty good."

"Yes, if we'd given them more time, they would've taken almost everything."

At least our surprise visits were effective. If we'd told them to gather at a specific time, they would have quickly caught on and moved away completely.

We visited a few more houses, but they were all empty. We filled our bags to the brim with the resources they'd left behind.

***

Back at the villa district, we waited for our companions to return. After some time, they came back dragging heavy transport carts or precariously carrying cardboard boxes.

Since there were quite a few piggy banks, the resources were substantial when gathered together.

A companion who had just set down a heavy box by the roadside spoke to me in a low voice.

"One person from our group died."

"Ah, I see."

I took a fresh look at this companion. He must be telling the truth about someone dying, since he was carrying two rifles.

The problem was that I didn't know who had died. As the organization's leader, I couldn't express the appropriate reaction. I had no one to mimic. After all, I was the only leader here.

I briefly looked away to count the number of companions.

'The missing heads... Two? Two died?'

Two deaths despite being armed with firearms. Did they fall into a trap or ambush? It seemed possible if someone dropped a refrigerator from a rooftop or fired at vital spots while hiding in a concrete fortress.

There were also injured companions. One had a face grazed by a blade, another was rubbing his bulletproof vest in pain.

"Seems our members weren't pushovers."

"Well, they're all survivors, aren't they? We also missed quite a few."

The companion who had been speaking to me hesitated, then lowered his voice.

"The friend who died had a family. That family..."

Family. I'd like to cut them loose if I could. Why care for humans who weren't proper fighters?

But to maintain the organization and avoid a "rebellion," I needed to take care of that family. My method for preventing rebellion or betrayal was to present benefits and consequences, and taking care of someone's family even after their death was one of the benefits.

I deliberately concealed my true feelings and patted the companion's shoulder.

"We're comrades, right? Their family is our family too, so please go comfort them. Tell them not to worry."

The companion smiled brightly and quickly turned away. He hurried to the deceased's family to say something, and they responded calmly. These were people who had run out of tears in a world where death was common.

As I watched, I gripped my hammer tightly. I felt like I'd offered too many benefits. It seemed like I should start introducing some consequences.

Just then, Jeon Do-hyung slowly approached. He walked over while looking at a map and held it out to me.

"I found a good place for us to move."

"How?"

It's a world where the internet doesn't work, making it difficult to get detailed information. We couldn't find the locations of natural springs or wells with groundwater, advantageous defensive terrain, or the spacing and arrangement of buildings.

But Jeon Do-hyung blinked in confusion and sighed.

"You don't care about the people here, do you? That guy over there used to be in real estate, so he knows a lot."

"Really?"

I looked at the person Jeon Do-hyung pointed to, but I couldn't place him. Just an ordinary companion, a middle-aged man.

"I'll have to remember that."

Having given one of my companions the nickname "real estate guy," I snatched the map. Jeon Do-hyung had circled an area with a ballpoint pen.

"That's just a mountain. Are you suggesting we go to the foothills?"

"The map is outdated. That guy told me there's a townhouse development there."

A townhouse—several single-family homes clustered like an apartment complex.

Jeon Do-hyung continued explaining.

"He says it uses groundwater and even has solar panels installed. He mentioned a few other locations too, but this one seemed the best."

I examined the map carefully. The location and facilities were good. Next, I needed to consider distance. The distance from the villa district to the townhouse, and the distance from the alliance.

It looked like we could move there in a day's walk. And it was adequately distanced from the alliance.

"Let's send a few people ahead to scout it out."

"Yeah, there might be survivors gathered there."

Good facilities naturally attract people. Plus, we needed to check if the facilities had been damaged by landslides or heavy rain during the summer.

I clapped my hands to get my companions' attention.

"We've selected a candidate location for our move. It's a townhouse with good facilities. Anyone want to go on a scouting mission?"

"I'll guide the way," said the real estate guy, quickly stepping forward with a smile.

"I've been there a few times, so I know the route. Just follow me and walk—any volunteers?"

"Is it far?"

"It's quick by bicycle. If we leave in the morning, we should be back before evening."

"That's still far."

Seeing a reluctance to take on difficult tasks, I added:

"The rest of you need to find carts or handcarts. Once you get those, we need to organize our belongings and move them. No one gets to rest."

Moving wasn't easy in times like these. Taking over houses was simple enough—just threaten people with guns—but the journey itself was the problem.

Moving heavy luggage over long distances. All sorts of preparations were needed.

Simple reconnaissance was actually the easier task. Realizing this, my companions raised their hands without delay.

"I'll go on the scouting mission."

"Me, me!"

After selecting people on a first-come basis, I finally looked at Park Yang-gun. Wasn't he the expert when it came to reconnaissance and exploration?

Park Yang-gun made a face and shook his head.

"This isn't theft, so why look at me?"

"Isn't it preliminary work for theft?"

"That won't trick me. You'll be raiding, not stealing."

That's when Sa Gi-hyeok stepped forward.

"Should I go along? I'm good at gaining people's trust when dealing with strangers."

"No, no. You don't need to come."

I hadn't said anything, but the reconnaissance team hurriedly dissuaded Sa Gi-hyeok.

After scratching my head briefly, I gestured lightly to the reconnaissance team.

"Head out tomorrow morning among yourselves. Watch out for ambushes."

***

Busy noises filled the streets from early morning. The reconnaissance team leaving on bicycles, the resource team moving to find carts and wagons, the base team organizing belongings. Everyone was constantly in motion.

People climbed up and down stairs like ants, stacking boxes neatly by the roadside.

I walked around leisurely, continuously nagging.

"Minimize your belongings. Only take what's absolutely necessary. ...Pajamas? Blankets? Throw those away. We can raid for those later. Being lightweight is the priority."

We just needed to pack food, medical supplies, weapons, water, and tools. Everything else could be replenished through raiding. Furniture and clothing were truly unnecessary.

"Throw away all the furniture too. Chairs, tables, computers, TVs—none of that is needed. Just take the stoves and heaters."

While everyone was busy, lunch time arrived, and the resource team returned one by one. They had somehow acquired pushcarts, and some were approaching with blood-stained carts.

"We killed those guys who had taken over the other stream area. We looted some resources too."

They'd ambushed and eliminated the raiders who had claimed another stream.

"Well done. Take a short break while you eat lunch."

Thanks to everyone's diligent efforts, and the fact that we didn't have that much luggage to begin with, the moving preparations were roughly finished by evening.

The reconnaissance team also returned safely.

The real estate guy, dismounting from his bicycle, spoke ambiguously.

"The townhouse isn't in perfect condition. Some houses were swept away by landslides, and there's only one working solar panel system."

"What about people?"

"There's a group of survivors."