Ch.13Chapter 3. Anyway, It Doesn’t Seem Like My Fault (2)

In principle, all operations and missions are reported “upward.” This is especially true for the Elza independence movement case. Since complex interests are intertwined and each government department has different approaches, someone needs to coordinate to prevent interference between agencies.

Her predecessors had abandoned their responsibilities. Subordinates like Leticia were handling duties that should have been performed by the Special Task Force Commander.

By-the-book elite officers had reported every detail of their activities to their superiors. The “target the weak link” strategy to recruit Hutt was one such operation.

‘It wasn’t leaked from below. It was spilled from above.’

Hutt said he spent a week in the human non-protected zone. So this tracker must have been there for over a week as well. Agents capable of tracking Hutt while finding food and water, fighting zombies, and avoiding the plague are rare.

An informant? A mere informant couldn’t do that. Why would they take such insane risks when there are many safer ways to gather information?

Then there’s only one answer. Information leaked from “above,” and an agent from another government department snatched it. But to avoid suspicion, they disguised themselves as an informant.

Virginia clenched her fist.

* * * * *

Silence hung over the intelligence department. Everyone kept glancing at the department head’s seat. Indeed, a pleasant atmosphere would be strange in this situation.

‘Why isn’t she coming back?’

Leticia, who had stormed out of the commander’s office, still hadn’t returned. The intelligence staff were imagining what might have happened to her.

The atmosphere remained unbearably heavy.

It had been better that morning when Leticia passionately declared, “Even if the Special Task Force Commander tried to stop me, reporting such a critical matter is the right thing to do.”

While there was some unfairness in her statement, it wasn’t entirely wrong. Non-commissioned officers and officers who had worked with Leticia for a long time regretted not being more flexible.

Leticia wasn’t universally respected as a commander, but she wasn’t one to let emotions dictate her behavior. When upset, she might drink heavily after work, but she never lost her temper inappropriately.

‘She’s actually a decent soldier, just unlucky with her superiors.’

And now this person had been dragged away by a parachuted commander who glared at her ‘like that.’

The rumors afterward were disturbing. The commander, unable to control her anger, had destroyed a metal desk; shouting was heard, though the exact words were unclear; Leticia had kicked open the door and run out.

‘…She doesn’t deserve such treatment.’

Just as an officer was about to quietly stand up, thinking something had to be done…

The door slid open.

Leticia returned.

‘…?’

Something was different. She looked remarkably calm. No, she appeared even clearer and more at ease than when she had arrived that morning.

“Ah, um, Intelligence Officer…”

“Operations Officer.”

“Yes!”

“You know the compiled data on our informants? Verify it’s up to date and send me the list. Categorize by what kind of information they typically trade, and sort them by survival capability.

Controller, please inform me of all government agency and other unit activities within 40km of Mini Bell. The data must be current as of this moment. Let me know immediately if administrative cooperation is needed.

Operations Specialist. Didn’t Redeker’s squad go on reconnaissance last night? Is the squad leader sleeping? Wake him and bring him here. Tell him it’s urgent. Is Hutt available for interrogation?”

The staff scrambled to respond to this flood of orders. These were their usual duties, just at a much faster tempo.

“Hutt received a sedative injection and can’t be awakened. The military doctor administered it because he was in severe shock.”

“Then leave him for now. Everyone, attention! We’re going to contact V now. Connect to the secure operations phone on the large screen. Continue your regular duties, but as soon as V responds, redirect all information resources to collecting data on V and the surrounding area. Understood?”

“Yes!”

Fortunately, the Leticia who had returned was the superior they knew. Everyone felt relieved, as if the universe was back in order.

Only the non-commissioned officers and officers who had worked with Leticia for a long time noticed that she seemed quite pleased. She had the unburdened look of someone who had successfully completed a task.

But only Leticia herself knew how she had regained her composure.

‘I am a Römer. I am a master. As long as I act like a master, I am a soldier of Römer.’

The sense of defeat that had clung to her ankles her entire life had been blown away by a refreshing declaration.

She absolutely would not let this slip away.

Leticia picked up Redeker’s report. She checked the number written on the neat report two, three times as she sent a message.

From an ID that was clearly military but not explicitly admitting it:

8qawsed8

“You’re selling the bag?”

The reply came much later.

Ding.

A loud message notification sounded. Everyone in the department looked at the large screen. It was a reply from the bag seller.

V

“Yes. And I plan to pass through Lamberg village on my way to the outskirts of Hampton City, so keep that in mind.”

“Activate all resources!”

Everyone in the department focused on their pre-assigned tasks. Leticia sat down and cracked her finger joints.

Just then, the controller handed Leticia a report containing the latest news about incidents in the relevant area. Coincidentally, it contained information related to Lamberg village.

“…Controller. What is this?”

“I’ll check the details, ma’am.”

Leticia nodded. According to the controller’s report, Lamberg was extremely dangerous. First, she needed to reply:

8qawsed8

“Ah, are you on the move right now? If you tell me where you are, I can come to you. If that’s not convenient, we can meet somewhere in between. Preferably somewhere away from Lamberg village.”

The reply arrived immediately.

V

“That’s difficult. I’ve already arranged to meet someone else who wants to buy this bag on the outskirts of Hampton. If you offer a good price before I get there, I’ll sell it to you instead.”

“Can’t we track the location?” Leticia shouted.

“It’s not showing up on regular communication networks. They seem to be using a separate transmitter, which we’re tracking!”

“Keep looking!”

Leticia traced her finger across the map. They didn’t know yet whether the person was walking or using transportation. She drew a fairly wide circular band centered on Mini Bell village and passed it to the radio tracking team.

“Focus your search here! Find all radio signals!”

Returning to her seat, Leticia thought hard.

‘Someone who wants to buy it first. Probably Hans.’

If her hypothesis was correct, Hans intended to carry out a terrorist attack in Hampton City. He probably wouldn’t show up himself. He would lead an unsuspecting buyer there and then detonate remotely.

That’s his typical method…

Ding.

A new message arrived.

V

“One more thing—don’t be too surprised if our conversation suddenly cuts off. If something happens, I’ll head to either Lamberg village or the outskirts of Hampton. Find me yourself.”

8qawsed8

“Do you have some urgent matter? Or is something wrong?”

V

“Oh, this phone has spyware installed. They’re probably watching this entire conversation. That’s why I’m telling you this.”

“…W-what?!”

Leticia jumped to her feet.

* * * * *

At that same moment, at the Elza Independence Movement Central Army’s secret hideout.

A hollow-eyed man stared at the monitor.

As usual, he was chewing almonds. Hunger was chronic here, and it was common knowledge that no amount of food could satisfy it. Constantly chewing like a cow was the method the man and the Central Army’s cell organization had found.

The man’s role was surveillance. His duty was to intercept and store all voice and text records transmitted through spyware. Nobody likes spyware, but it’s especially significant for secret society members.

In their final moments, when they can’t even leave a will, they can at least whisper their last words into a phone.

Just now, another comrade had died. The sound of a weak “Long live Elza” was heard. The man recorded the voice file and saved it with the comrade’s name and date and time of death. The deceased’s final voice would somehow reach the family…

“Huh?”

A warning message flashed. It signaled that contact was being made from a number on the “watch list”—phones that required special monitoring. It was one he had annotated as “Hutt.”

V

“And this phone has spyware installed. They might be watching this. So don’t be too surprised if our conversation cuts off.”

“Hans!”

The man jumped up. The container tipped over, spilling precious almonds on the floor, but this was no time to worry about that.

“I told you to add ‘comrade’!”

Damn him, harping on about “comrade” even in this situation. The man suppressed his anger and shouted again.

“Comrade Hans! Y-you need to see this!”

* * * * *

Leticia sat back down.

‘So that’s why phone calls were difficult! It wasn’t just about maintaining silence!’

Even as she thought this, her fingers moved quickly.

8qawsed8

“Understood the situation. Let me speak quickly. We’ll buy the bag. What price are you thinking? And could I possibly know who the previous potential buyer was?”

V

“I don’t know who, but judging by the ‘temporary pass’ they gave me without even my date of birth on it, they must be government people. It says ‘Authorized by Virginia Helford, Commander of the 8th National Military Police of the Elza Democratic Republic.'”

* * * * *

“Is this bastard messing with us?”

Hans growled. The man agreed.

“Should we just cut it off? We can reformat it now.”

“No, no. Leave it. Let’s see what they’re trying to provoke us for.”

Though angry, Hans felt an eerie chill in one corner of his mind.

It’s true that a date of birth should be included on a temporary pass. But this was a relatively new regulation that most people didn’t know about.

More importantly, hardly anyone could obtain a temporary pass in the first place. People who needed to enter human non-protected zones were either under government orders, biker gangs, zombies, or people like themselves who ignored such procedures.

“So this guy knew about the temporary pass format. And yet he pretended to fall for it. Who the hell is he? What does he want?”

* * * * *

“…Hans. What an idiot.”

Leticia let out a hollow laugh. This is exactly why the Elza radical independence movement couldn’t succeed. They couldn’t even get the document format right, didn’t know the requirements, and even got the name wrong.

Virginia Helford is the “commander” of the Special Task Force “under” the 8th National Military Police, not the “Commander of the 8th National Military Police.” It’s an absurd mistake, like confusing a division commander with a platoon leader.

“But how did they know Commander Helford was coming to take up her post?”

“…Rats can be found anywhere.”

Leticia shook her head. It was clear there was a serious security breach if even military personnel transfers were being leaked. But there was something more important to focus on.

‘But should I point out what’s wrong?’

On second thought, that didn’t seem very smart. According to this person V, Hans was probably watching this conversation. Pointing out Hans’s errors would be tantamount to treason.

8qawsed8

“That could be. But that’s not the important issue. Rather than trusting an invisible counterpart, it’s more constructive to talk about definite compensation. What do you need? What can I offer you?”

V

“Information. What exactly happened in Lamberg village? How many zombies are there, and what’s the gang presence like?”

Leticia was prepared to offer anything—food, water, shelter.

But suddenly being asked for information about Lamberg?

And hadn’t V just warned that “they”—the Elza terrorists—were watching this conversation? To ask for information in this situation…

“Ah.”

A spark flashed in Leticia’s eyes. Like the elite officer she was, she realized what V wanted.

‘Is this V person trying to lure both the 8th Military Police and the terrorists to Lamberg to fight each other?’