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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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I had returned driving the pickup truck, but I didn’t go straight to the research facility. I needed to check if anyone was following.
So I set up in a 2-story building to the southwest of the research facility. It was safe because it was a place that Camilla, Cassandra, and I had ‘tidied up’ in advance.
I parked the pickup truck right up against the entrance and sent a radio message to Camilla. Close distances by radio, cell phones only in unavoidable cases. That was the rule we had set.
– You even pretended to be a cultist in the middle of all that?
Camilla burst out laughing from over the radio.
“If you say you’re a cultist, it makes you look like you have a lot of numbers. They’ll act more cautiously.”
– Alright. When are you coming?
“I’ll be in before the sun sets. I have to park the car near the research facility and move the things too.”
– Okay. Don’t worry.
The radio cut off. It was a good thing to have a sniper watching my back.
I heard the sound of a steel plate being banged. A zombie was touching the pickup truck. It even tried to take a bite, thinking it was food, but then it lost interest and shambled off, roaming the streets like the others.
Of course, the car wasn’t going to break down from just that. Because it was a cool car that had even been modified with additional armor plating. That is, as long as a well-built woman with white hair and purple eyes didn’t tear it apart with her bare hands.
I scanned the horizon with my binoculars.
On the wheat field that was slowly drying up and dying, a pack of human zombies and a pack of wild dog zombies were fighting. I wasn’t very interested in the outcome of the fight, but I was very interested in the zombies’ clothes.
Zombies wandered outside whether the weather was good or bad. Most clothes would wear out quickly. But the zombies were wearing new clothes. It meant that it hadn’t been long since they had completely transformed.
Lately, the number of zombies in new clothes had increased. Most of them were skinny, and they had large wounds somewhere on their arms or legs. They had been bitten while wandering around here and there, unable to endure their hunger, and had undergone an acute transformation.
There were also some that walked around with their necks broken. They were the ones who had hung themselves in despair. They might have thought it would be the end if they died, but no.
The Cro-virus would bring the host back to life, no matter what it took. So that it could spread far and wide.
It would even eat its own kind to absorb nutrients, and regardless of the shape, it would stuff flesh into the destroyed parts of the body.
If you were already infected, you weren’t dead even if you died. Unless your head or heart was blown off, or your body was scattered.
Sooner or later, everyone in this world would eventually become a zombie.
A wild dog zombie leaped onto the back of a human zombie. The human zombie, whose upper body had become heavy and had lost its balance, fell into the wheat field. The pack of wild dog zombies barked and lowered their heads toward the fallen one.
They’re going to eat it, I thought. But no.
The wild dogs lowered their posture in the wheat field. Only one big one, probably the leader, raised its head.
I followed its gaze with my binoculars. Far. Further. A shining silver box was visible on the highway, barely visible even with the binoculars.
A vehicle. It wasn’t there before. It was people. I quietly picked up the radio.
“Camilla. Do you see a silver vehicle on the southwest highway?”
– Just a moment. Yeah. I see it. A truck with a silver trailer. It definitely wasn’t there before. There’s no way I would have missed something that shiny.
Don’t tell me they followed me.
No, that was unlikely. In a situation where they should have followed quietly, to come in a trailer that shiny. Wasn’t that no different from advertising, ‘I’m here’?
But for some reason, it was strangely bothering me.
They got out.
I couldn’t see well from where I was. I had no choice but to rely on Camilla’s observation.
– They’re a bit arrogant, aren’t they?
“Why? I can’t see well from here.”
– That guy, he’s watching the surroundings with just a sniper rifle scope. The reflection is dazzling. That’s a soldier.
“Is he wearing a uniform?”
– No. Casual clothes and a tactical vest. But you can tell soldiers. Their attitude, and there’s a certain indescribable feeling.
It must be a guerrilla’s intuition. If so, it was probably right. But for soldiers to come all the way here in a truck with a trailer, not a military vehicle. What were they up to?
– They’re going.
A moment later, the shiny vehicle disappeared beyond the road. And it was never seen again.
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I returned to the research facility before the sun set. I moved the luggage I had brought in the truck and had a late dinner. I had no appetite, but I had to eat well in these peaceful times.
I spread out a map and drew the vehicle’s movement. It was certain that it had come from the southwest and had passed through to the northeast road.
“The trailer was big, wasn’t it? It looked like five to six people could rest comfortably. And considering the person driving the truck, we should probably assume a maximum of eight people.”
Camilla tapped the map. Cassandra was cowering, terrified.
“D-don’t tell me it’s the National Gendarmerie, n-no, it can’t be, right?”
Well. If it had been the National Gendarmerie, I think they would have just cut straight through.
On top of that, the trailer and the truck guzzled fuel. In a situation where they had to be mindful of the lack of fuel, would they really?
“If they had come to get you, Cassandra, they would have brought more than 10 people. Those seem to be other people. And they don’t look like members of the Liberation Army either.”
Thinking she was being too definitive, I glanced at Camilla. She lifted her chin.
“Their equipment was too good. Even from a glance, they had all sorts of things like rails attached to their rifles. The Liberation Army doesn’t have the money to attach things like that.”
“You could even see their equipment?”
“Well, I was on the rooftop, covered in a blanket and looking through a telescope.”
The reflection would have been less, but it must have been very hot to be like that on this summer day. When I looked at her with admiration, Camilla seemed a little proud.
“Anyway, it felt a bit bad. They were looking exactly ‘this way.’ But it’s a bit unclear whether they were looking at our building, or if they were watching the zombies fight each other.”
“Either way, we need to strengthen our guard.”
Just then, Cassandra timidly raised her hand. Camilla playfully grabbed her wrist and extended it upwards.
“H-hee-eek.”
Her t-shirt went up a little. Cassandra’s large breasts bounced. Her soft-looking belly was white.
“Hold it up confidently, just.”
Cassandra, who didn’t know what to do, desperately lowered her arm.
“Th-that, hey. Our research facility… has s-surveillance cameras, right?”
There were surveillance cameras installed on each floor.
“So?”
“S-so, I was wondering what it would be like… if we modified them a bit.”
Since it was a research facility, there were CCTV cameras installed in each room and on each floor, and there was even a separate monitor surveillance room. Of course, since there was no electricity in the building, it was completely useless.
“That’s a good idea, but I don’t know how to do it. I could do it if you teach me. What about you, Johan?”
I had no idea. I was good at things like shooting, setting traps, and intuition, but I was terrible at repairing or modifying electronic devices. Instead, I placed my hopes on Cassandra.
“…Ugh, a-ah, so you can’t. Cassandra thought you guys could do it.”
“What. You can’t do it either? You’re good at programming.”
“I-I’m good at handling things like that, but touching and modifying machines is a different area…”
Cassandra tried hard to make an excuse, but come to think of it, it didn’t seem necessary to go to the trouble of modifying the building’s CCTV.
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The next day.
Camilla had a displeased expression, and Cassandra was trembling all over.
“Jo-jo-johan. Do you really have to do that? What if you get hurt.”
Was it out of sincere worry? She was so close that her chest was not just touching but slightly pressed against me. Well, it was because she was so big.
“This is cheaper.”
I soothed her worries with a single phrase. Camilla finally frowned.
“I’m helping you because you want to, but if something happens, I’m just going to shoot, whether there’s a noise or not.”
“Well, that’s that.”
In fact, it wasn’t that dangerous a plan. The two of them were being dramatic. Camilla, upon hearing it, had looked so dumbfounded that she had even said she would follow me.
But there was no reason for that.
“The attention shouldn’t be dispersed.”
“…I should have found a sports crossbow or something. That thing is super quiet.”
“I told you. Nothing will happen.”
I patted the rider’s jacket that covered my entire body. If I even put on a helmet with this, at least no bare skin would be exposed. Of course, the bite force of a zombie was not to be trifled with.
I slung my backpack and walked out of the research facility. I had used a shampoo and body wash that blocked the smell of sweat, so my body odor was less, but it would be a problem if I moved around and got sweaty.
The time was 10:30 AM. The time when it starts to get seriously hot. A time when the movement of zombies strangely slows down. I don’t know if it’s because they know that moving on a hot day consumes a lot of energy, or if they just don’t move because they’re lazy.
“Shall we do this.”
I interlaced my fingers and cracked my knuckles. I got on the electric bicycle and quietly headed for the farthest building. It was a small building with a front and back door, and the first floor was all glass.
I deliberately rang the bicycle’s bell. Jingle… jingle… jingle… a pleasant, clear sound echoed. Before long, zombies popped out from the alley, from under a tree that had somehow survived without dying, and from between the flowerbeds.
They were dazed, as if they still didn’t know what was going on. Four of them. This should be enough.
“Now.”
I took out the weapon I had meticulously made. A slingshot. The rubber band was sturdy and the handle was made of steel, so it was reliable. I took out the pebbles I had packed in advance, aimed at a zombie’s knee, and shot.
“Kyak.”
It hit, but it was too weak. The zombie that had received the surprise attack scrunched up its face and approached. Still, it wasn’t completely without impact, as it was limping a little.
“That’s right.”
As expected, this was more comfortable for me. I picked up a broken brick from the side of the wall and threw it with all my might at the thing’s groin.
Thwack.
A grand sound was made. The zombie’s mouth dropped open, and it clutched its groin and sat down. It was probably more due to the shock than from feeling pain.
The expression I wanted appeared on the thing’s face.
Hate.
“Kyaat.”
Though it was trembling, the thing followed me. I slowly backed away and went into the front door with a whoosh. The zombies followed me, and the one that had been hit in the groin, and followed behind.
I dragged the cabinets and desks.
Scraaaape!
I didn’t care if the floorboards were getting destroyed and just dragged them over. I blocked the back door and slammed the door shut.
“Gyaaaak, baaaak.”
I heard the sound of the zombies fumbling inside. I carefully went around the corner of the building without making a sound. I quietly closed the front door. The stupid things were still struggling at the back door.
Zombies that had heard the commotion came out onto the street one by one.
“Hey, I’m a little disappointed. You don’t recognize me even after I spread my scent so much?”
In fact, I had scattered old clothes, blankets, and other things with my and Camilla’s and Cassandra’s scent on them in this area.
It was out of a vague hope that just as animals recognize their owners by smell, these zombies would also become less aggressive if they got used to our scent.
But whether it was because the scent was too weak, or because the zombies in this area were so stupid, it didn’t seem to have much effect yet.
If it had worked well, I would have been able to walk around comfortably among the zombies, and most of all, I could have tested the ‘pheromone-like’ something that was said to come out of my body as much as I wanted.
Even a dog needs to recognize its owner to be trained; if it can’t recognize its owner, there’s no way. So what else could I do? I had no choice but to make them serve as biological CCTVs.
To trap zombies inside each building. And to use them as a substitute for biological CCTVs. That was my plan.
Wouldn’t they die if they were trapped inside a building? It’s fine. I can just bring a new zombie and put it there. In fact, if I just left the door open, they would be drawn by the terrible smell and come on their own.
“Well, let’s see if the outsiders can break through this too.”
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