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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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The zombies followed the truck, shambling along.
It felt less like they were desperately chasing prey and more like they were vaguely running along just because something was passing by.
Like how a neighborhood dog would mindlessly follow a running child.
Each time, I deliberately slowed the truck down and went around a building corner. It was better to circle the same area than to step on the gas all at once.
Eventually, the zombies, growing hungry, stopped following. It took some time, but just bringing the truck and the loot back to the research facility was enough. There was no need to bring the zombies along too.
I glanced at Camilla in the passenger seat.
In one hand, she held a sniper rifle, ready to fire at any moment, and with binoculars in the other, she scanned the surroundings.
Occasionally, she would put down the gun and scribble something on a notepad she had on her thigh.
“What are you writing?”
Camilla answered only after she had finished her notes.
“I’m trying to note down places where it’s easy to secure a line of sight. Since it looks like we’ll be staying here for a while, we should know what’s around.”
I thought it was a very sniper-like way of thinking. Well, we were now more like defenders than attackers.
I should think about keeping some luggage in the truck, just in case we needed to leave at any given moment.
“Oh, right, Johan. By the way, that thing you did earlier, wrapping a handkerchief around a stone and throwing it, why did you do that?”
“Cassandra had said the virus in my body synthesizes a substance that ‘stimulates emotions.’ I got curious. Not just about how effective it is, but if it even makes sense in the first place. What did you think, Camilla?”
“From what I saw, it didn’t seem to have that strong of an effect on the human zombies. I think it worked more strongly on the zombie dog. That thing was pretty agitated and went wild.”
“It seems a bit weak to use in a real fight.”
I said it without much thought, but Camilla’s face hardened.
“What’s wrong?”
Camilla hesitated for a long time before finally turning her head away.
“Nothing. Let’s talk later. When we get back. Is that okay?”
Just then, I saw a zombie with its mouth hanging open. I nodded my head.
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I prepared dinner. Today, the ingredients were quite plentiful.
I cooked in the 3rd-floor research auxiliary room, which was perfect as a kitchen, equipped with a sink, an LPG gas stove, and even a ventilation system.
The name ‘research auxiliary room’ was a bit strange, but it was actually more like a break room.
“Wow. Smells delicious.”
Cassandra, who had changed into casual clothes, peeked in from the side.
It was clearly a normal t-shirt, but her chest was so large that her navel was completely exposed. On top of that, she wore a gray zip-up hoodie, but it seemed she couldn’t zip it up because it got caught on her chest.
“Come to think of it, I forgot something important. Is there any food you can’t eat? Like, do you have allergies?”
“I eat everything well. I’m not picky. Whatever I eat, it’ll be more delicious than the food at the Administration’s cafeteria. Kibele Corporation was in charge of the meals there. I couldn’t even dream of something like this there.”
As she said that, she subtly tried to reach for a flour pancake.
“That’s still hot.”
“Eek.”
Did she think I wouldn’t see?
“That’s just flour mixed with water and pan-fried, so it won’t taste good on its own. It’s much better if you cool it down a bit and roll it up with other ingredients.
Oh, right, by the way. Cassandra, what do you think about simple crop cultivation? I got some seeds before. You’re not listening to me, are you?”
“…Cassandra wants to eat this wrap. I’ll eat one less later. My head isn’t working well because I’m so hungry. I need fuel.”
Cassandra patted her lower abdomen with her palm. Thankfully, Camilla was showering. And since I was going to make a lot anyway, it seemed fine for her to grab one.
“Alright, then. But wash your hands.”
It was made with just salt, sugar, flour, and water, with no eggs and no fermentation. That’s why I had prepared various fillings on the side.
Cassandra picked up a long sausage from among them, placed it on the bread, drizzled mustard sauce, and rolled it up. And took a big bite.
“Mmm. Wa oom…”
She opened her mouth wide and took a bite, then chewed it thoroughly and swallowed. Mustard was smeared on her lips and around her mouth.
In the end, she even sucked the sauce off her fingers. It was very gratifying to see her eat so deliciously.
“Oom, it’s delicious. Mm. Mm. First, you can’t use soil from the ground. There’s a high chance it’s contaminated. If you must use it, you have to wash it and sterilize it in the sun.
Or it’s better to use the soil in sacks sold at gardening supply stores. Hydroponics is good too, but it might be a bit tricky. Also, it’ll be better to get new seeds each time.”
“Really? Can’t we get them from existing crops?”
“Mmm, there’s a high possibility of mutation. Unrelated to the virus. I don’t know about replanting like with seed potatoes. But where are you planning to grow them?”
“I’m thinking of putting some pots on the rooftop.”
If we put up a screen or something, there would be no chance of being discovered even if seen from the air.
Of course, that’s assuming a plane or helicopter would be flying in a situation where even cars barely run due to lack of fuel.
Dinner preparation was also finished by cutting the blanched vegetables with a knife and placing them on a plate.
It was something similar to a kebab, where you lay out blanched vegetables, sausage, and ham, fill them in a flour flatbread, and roll it up to eat.
“You have to roll it yourself. Cassandra, can you help me move the plates to the table?”
“Okay.”
But she stood behind me, not at the table. I had a silly thought that she was going to lift me up and move me, but she suddenly hugged me from behind.
“…What are you doing?”
“Just because I like it. Cassandra is happy these days. I’m happy.”
“…Uh, really? That’s a relie—”
It was a bit hard to speak because Cassandra’s texture was so powerful.
“Thank you for listening to me, Johan.”
Wait a minute. What?
“…Cassandra?”
Cassandra herself seemed quite flustered. After calling herself Cassandra all this time, to suddenly say ‘me.’
Cassandra turned me around. She fidgeted with her lips, then grabbed my collar and slowly pulled me toward her.
My chest touched hers before my face did, so I leaned my waist back slightly. It was a bit stimulating.
“Will you forget?”
“Did something happen?”
“We really do get along well.”
Her lips tasted of mustard.
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While eating dinner, I briefly told Cassandra about what had happened today. Camilla, who had been covering me from behind, added small details to the parts I hadn’t seen.
“The zombie dog seemed to react much more sensitively than the human zombies. Was it because it had a good sense of smell?”
At my question, Cassandra nodded.
“That’s highly likely. Moreover, according to you two, it seems the dog had an attachment to its home. On the other hand, the surrounding humans seemed to have no desires other than appetite.”
Hearing Cassandra’s words, Camilla shook an empty beer can.
“A zombie dog and a human zombie traveling together. I don’t get it.”
“It’s a recent phenomenon. An interesting one, too. Just as animals and humans cooperate with each other, the same thing is happening to zombies.”
Well, from what I had done so far, it wasn’t really a concept of cooperation. A zombie dog was a zombie dog, and a human zombie was a human zombie.
I could make them fight each other, but it wasn’t like they had any grudges against each other or got along well. So the current situation was unfamiliar to me too.
“Is it a mutation?”
At my question, Cassandra shook her head.
“There are researchers who say that, but Cassandra thinks a little differently. Cassandra thinks it might be a product of a certain survival competition.
I think the group that could form a strategy won against the group that couldn’t. And that’s a thought that all living things instinctively have, even if it’s not a virus.
All living things are made to be able to eat something else, aren’t they. That’s instinct. And all living things are bound to think about how to consume more effectively and efficiently.”
“But mutations definitely happen. I’ve seen one whose wounds healed abnormally fast. Some would charge even if their limbs were shot off.”
“That’s a physical mutation. Not a mental one. And even if there are physical mutations, we haven’t seen a three-headed wolf or a slithering human zombie yet.
They generally try to maintain their original form. The virus, after all, needs to keep its host alive.”
Come to think of it, she was right. If the host died, the virus couldn’t move around. So it had to keep it alive as much as possible and use it for its own purposes.
“The Cro-virus, it’s really tenacious. It’s trying to keep its host alive even by doing that.”
Camilla hung her head as if disgusted. Cassandra also agreed.
“From the virus’s perspective, we’re like ships.”
“Ships?”
“Yeah. Leaky ships. Ships that have to be fixed up somehow. Because the ships have to survive for them to survive too. The problem is that it’s not very pleasant from our perspective.
But, since the foundation is a ship, it can’t do anything more than that. Unless it’s taken to land, dismantled, and rebuilt.
So something like a four-legged human zombie is probably difficult. Because that’s not in the realm of what a virus can do.
It would probably just be at the level of healing wounds a little better, still being able to move even if the brain is damaged, and being able to endure and move forward even when feeling pain.”
No. Even that much seemed excessive.
“Hey. Cassandra.”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
“That thing that comes out of my body, you said it heightens excitement. If the virus gets stronger, will that also get stronger?”
“Well. I’d have to experiment to know, but I think it’s highly likely.”
“…That thing.”
Camilla raised her hand.
“You said my and Johan’s virus are almost the same. Then does ‘that thing’ come out of me too?”
“It’s faint. To the point of being almost non-existent. But that’s how it is for now, I don’t know what will happen in the future. Because the mutation is so fast.”
“Then what if…”
Before speaking, Camilla drank another can of beer. Come to think of it, she seemed to be drinking a lot today.
After entering the research facility and our lives stabilizing to some extent, we decided not to stand watch.
It was thanks to adding various devices so that we could respond immediately even if a dangerous situation occurred.
So we were enjoying this kind of leisure, but.
“What is it, Camilla?”
But Camilla couldn’t easily open her mouth.
“…Can it manipulate emotions, or… even create emotions that weren’t there? I mean, like suddenly hating someone for no reason, or liking someone for no reason.”
Hearing that, it seemed pretty good.
“Oh, nice. If that’s possible, it would be a lot easier to disrupt and control zombies.”
I said it because I thought it was a really good idea, but for some reason, Camilla glared at me.
Why?
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