Surviving the Apocalypse as a Villain – Chapter 76

A scene flashed through my mind.

Back at the golf resort on the first floor, when I fell into the water mixed with zombie blood.

Camilla, looking at me, said, “If you came this far because of me, and if you’re infected, then I’ll be infected too,” and kissed me.

Even if I wasn’t infected at that time, we had become quite close.

We might have been infected while living together.

I made eye contact with Camilla. She seemed to be recalling the same memory as I was.

She seemed to be about to explode, or maybe she was trying to appear composed.

Either way, she looked as uneasy as a water glass teetering on the edge of a desk, so I sat down beside her.

Camilla clutched my arm with difficulty.

“…The two of you seem closer than Cassandra thinks.”

However, I didn’t want to discuss that in front of an outsider.

“This is malpractice. Is it okay to just talk about a patient’s secrets in front of an outsider?”

I pointed at the jeweler’s clerk.

Cassandra nodded gently, and the clerk bowed respectfully and withdrew.

She set down her luggage on the floor and gently loosened her shoulders and neck.

Each time, her large breasts swayed like waves. The waves were high.

“Strictly speaking, they’re not outsiders. This jewelry store belongs to Cassandra, and those clerks have served our family for a very long time. By the way, this is a secret.”

“Um, Cassandra… right? Is that how I should address you?”

Camilla opened her mouth with difficulty. Cassandra nodded.

“If Johan and I were really infected, why did you let us into Hamton? And there was nothing particularly wrong with our bodies. We had a slight fever for a few days, but it was like a normal cold. Wait, so does that mean we…”

If Camilla was right, we would have been wandering around the city infected.

But that was because we were unaware of it.

If we had shown any symptoms, we wouldn’t have even thought of coming to Hamton.

The process of zombification was generally similar.

The virus invades the body, causing inflammation levels to skyrocket. Then, they suffer from high fever, followed by delirium and a coma.

Permanent changes occur in the body and mind, and they never return to their previous state.

However, we had slightly elevated body temperatures within the “normal range,” and now we’re fine.

In none of the zombifications I had experienced did the fever rise and then subside.

That’s why Camilla and I attributed it to a simple cold.

“Letting you in was certainly because of Cassandra’s wish. She thought Johan would definitely be able to get this poor woman out of the cage. But Cassandra didn’t break any rules. You are perfectly normal according to the standards of the Disease Control Agency.”

“Wait a minute, Cassandra. Didn’t you say we were carriers?”

“Yes.”

“But you said we’re normal?”

“Yes.”

What kind of nonsense is this? Infected but within normal limits? That means…

“…There are others besides us who are walking around infected?”

“That’s right. The Cro virus antibody is commonly found. Zombification is just the final form of infection symptoms.”

“Wait, wait, doctor. My head is spinning a little. You said it’s commonly found? Antibodies? Don’t antibodies develop when you’re infected with a virus?”

For some reason, Cassandra looked at Camilla with a rather admirable expression.

“That’s right. Beautiful lady.”

But the fact that it’s commonly found means…

“Cassandra. How many people are infected?”

“Almost all of the Elza people. It’s also slowly spreading in Roemer and Minsk.”

“…Kick.”

Camilla burst into laughter.

Sometimes, when something is so absurd, you can only laugh.

That seemed to be the case now.

“What, what kind of boring joke is that? You said almost all Elza people are infected? I’m sorry, Johan. But is this person sane? Are you crazy, you?”

The last part was almost a shout.

Cassandra bowed her head and smiled sadly.

“…Cassandra is broken somewhere. She knows that herself. Maybe she’s a little crazy. But it’s true that almost all Elza people are infected. You’ll get the same answer from anyone you ask at the Disease Control Agency.”

“That can’t be, doctor. Why don’t other doctors say the same thing as you? Why are all the other scientists keeping their mouths shut? You’re the only one in the world who says that!”

“Because the doctors who tried to say that were all shot dead. Pew, pew.”

Cassandra made a gesture of shooting herself in the head with her hand.

Then she alternately aimed at me and Camilla.

“When the functions of the Disease Control Agency were expanded, the situation had already spiraled out of control. They said it couldn’t be controlled.

So the agency changed its guidelines according to the government’s decision.

“Our agency is called the ‘Disease Control Agency,’ not the ‘Disease Eradication Agency.’ Interesting, isn’t it? “

Control.

Many colleagues were shot dead during that process.

They didn’t just shoot.

They also persuaded.

They said that if Elsa people knew that the epidemic was spreading so widely, there would be massive chaos, and the doctors of the Disease Control Agency would be the first victims.

They would be torn to pieces by angry citizens, or shot dead by the government’s show trials.

Now that I think about it, ‘persuasion’ worked really well. You know?

They never touched the people who tried to leak information, the people who tried to make a conscience declaration.

Instead, they called the entire team and made them draw lots.

“What kind of lottery?”

“A lottery to receive an injection filled with the Cro virus. The ‘infected’ created in this way had to be ‘disposed of’ by their team members. The government politely called it the ‘one-tenth type.’

In the end, no one could say anything. Who wouldn’t? If someone even opened their mouth, their colleague working overtime next to them would “kwaang,” and turn into a zombie. …Wait a minute. Are you okay?”

Cassandra jumped up and rushed towards Camilla beside me.

Camilla’s face had turned pale.

Her hands were as cold as ice.

I couldn’t understand what was happening, but Camilla could only make sounds like “uh, uh…” with her eyes wide open.

“Grab her arm!”

Cassandra shouted at me.

She held Camilla tightly.

Cassandra put her hand inside Camilla’s clothes and pressed somewhere between her chest and abdomen.

“Huu, huuk! Cough, cough! Cough! Cough!”

Camilla coughed violently.

Cassandra stroked Camilla’s back here and there and pressed firmly.

Camilla, held in my arms, gasped for breath.

“Okay, okay.”

“I almost died like a fish pulled out of the water, but you say I’m okay, beautiful lady.”

“…Call me Camilla.”

“Beautiful Camilla.”

“Yes, you know I’m beautiful. Stop it. Stop it, I’m okay now. Sorry, sorry. Johan, hold me.”

I gently stroked her back like I was comforting a frightened child.

Her body was damp with sweat.

Cassandra looked down at me and Camilla with a slightly troubled expression.

“It’s very rare for a person to forget to breathe. You must have been very scared. You’re a very healthy person.”

“It’s, it’s you.”

“Yes, beautiful Camilla.”

“…You, cough, you must have…suffered a lot too, right? Cough, cough.”

Hearing Camilla’s words, Cassandra turned away. When she turned back, she had the same expressionless face as before.

“Suffering…well, it’s something everyone experiences. Anyway…”

Cassandra took out her cell phone and checked the time.

A question suddenly came to mind.

“Cassandra. How long does it take to become a zombie after infection?”

According to the Protocol, being bitten didn’t immediately turn you into a zombie.

As if they were trying to torture you with hope, the time to become a zombie was the same regardless of how much you were bitten.

If you were bitten a lot, you would change faster, and if you were slightly cut and the bacteria penetrated, it would be slower.

“Zombification progresses after the body is almost completely consumed by the virus. The rate of consumption varies from person to person, so it’s hard to say. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“…What about a vaccine?”

Camilla asked with a trembling voice.

“Isn’t there something like a vaccine? If there’s no cure, isn’t there at least something to help you survive? Isn’t that what the Disease Control Agency does?”

“That’s right, beautiful Camilla. There are also reasons for gathering people like this. To find out which drugs work and which antibodies work best. But Cassandra doesn’t think it has much meaning.”

“Why?”

“It evolves.”

Cassandra’s face darkened.

“The Cro virus mutates faster than any virus humans have ever encountered.

If one method doesn’t work, it relentlessly changes its method of transmission.

In some ways, it’s the same as humans.

It adapts, responds, and finds a superior strategy, then adopts it as its main strategy, but it doesn’t stop mutating in the meantime.

That’s why the Disease Control Agency hasn’t achieved any results yet.

The government and the agency’s organization are rigid, but the virus changes every day.

“ And that’s why Cassandra wants to go ‘out there.’ Because she wants to solve this problem.”

When I first met Cassandra, she had clearly talked about the “Eruptor Protocol.”

It’s also the name of this game, but it seems to have a different meaning for her.

She said she had to find a counterexample.

I don’t know what that means yet.

It doesn’t seem easy to understand. And although it’s important, it’s not urgent.

The urgent thing is this.

“…Cassandra. Camilla and I are going to go outside the city. There’s no research equipment there, not even electricity. We won’t be able to do any research, and we won’t be able to sleep properly because we’ll be on guard duty. Even then, do you still want to go with us?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Don’t worry about the research. Cassandra knows a place. It’s a fairly safe place with good electricity and water. And… you’re the only one who understands Cassandra, Johan.”

Camilla hugged me tightly and asked me back.

“What do you understand?”

“That the world will be destroyed by this virus. No one else thinks that way. They just think of it as a manageable epidemic. Only I-i and Cassandra take it seriously.”

“…Did you just say ‘I-i’?”

‘I-i’ is also used as a third-person pronoun for a woman to refer to her husband or lover who is close to another person.

That’s why Camilla got angry, but Cassandra didn’t seem to mind.

I made a decision.

“You must have packed your bags, so you’re planning to leave now, right?”

“Yes. But there’s one thing Cassandra didn’t tell me. Cassandra is under surveillance. If we leave like this, we’ll definitely be caught by the military police.”

This is a bit of a dilemma.

It’s easy to shake them off if the military police catch us.

I’m not alone, and with Camilla by my side, I don’t have to worry about being caught by those guys.

The problem is that we got help from Leticia to get here.

If we take Cassandra out without any consideration, her situation will become difficult, and then we will lose the trading partner we barely opened.

“Let’s do this.”

I held out my gun towards Cassandra.

Camilla looked at me as if she couldn’t understand. Cassandra did the same.

“Why the gun?”

“Cassandra. Hold us up at gunpoint. We’re being kidnapped against your will. How about that?”

“Johan! What are you talking about…?”

Camilla clutched my arm tightly as if to say that it made no sense.

But Cassandra quickly raised her gun and pointed it at me and Camilla.

“That’s a good idea. Now, get up. You’ve been kidnapped.”

“Oh dear, I’m scared.”

As expected, it worked well.

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