Ch.150Chapter 20. Patriot (2)
by fnovelpia
Camilla, whom I thought was asleep, was sitting on the bed. As soon as she saw us come in, she pointed at Leticia.
“You’ve got something on the corner of your mouth.”
“Huh? I’m sure I wiped it off…”
Startled at first, Leticia quickly realized Camilla was messing with her. Before Leticia could pounce on Camilla, I grabbed her waist and pulled her back.
“Mmm, what’s going on?”
Thanks to the commotion, even Cassandra, who had been sound asleep, woke up. Her thin t-shirt was soaked with sweat and clinging to her body. The trailer does tend to get quite hot.
“Sorry, were you hot? I should have left some windows open before we left.”
“Only hot air was coming in anyway, didn’t help much.”
Camilla, who had been lying on the bed like a cat, stretched her body. She was wearing a tank top and dolphin shorts. The research facility was relatively cool with some breeze, but the trailer was essentially a metal box, radiating heat from all sides.
“Calm down and sit. Let’s rethink our plan. Are there really that few entry points?”
Bayetra was designated as an unprotected zone four months after the zombie outbreak began.
Until then, the prevailing belief was that “we just need to keep zombies from coming in from outside,” so the National Guard sealed off the city perimeter, and citizens built defense posts and watchtowers throughout the city. The situation was quite optimistic until a flock of zombie-infected migratory birds “bombed” Bayetra.
But now that it’s an abandoned city, the defense posts built to keep zombies out have become strongholds protecting fanatics and gangs.
For several days, we scouted the southern region controlled by fanatics and the eastern outskirts. Despite the city being quite large, watchtowers were visible everywhere we went. With tattered rags displaying the silhouette of a goddess as flags, there was no mistaking who controlled those areas.
“So what I’m saying is, let’s try the northern and western areas controlled by the gangs.”
It was Camilla’s suggestion, but Leticia shook her head.
“I don’t know how many gang members there are, but they’re extremely aggressive. Plus, they’ll have regular patrols. If we’re discovered, they’ll swarm us from all directions like a pack of wolves.”
“Isn’t that the same with the fanatics?”
“No. The fanatics have families and people to protect. They have sandbags tied to their ankles, so to speak, which limits how far they can pursue us. But the gang members have nothing holding them back.”
Camilla got a bit angry at Leticia’s rebuttal.
“After what we experienced at the gas station, you still don’t get it?”
“If even rational people with families to protect behave like that, I can’t even imagine what the gang members would be like. That’s why.”
“Enough. Enough.”
I finally intervened. Both of them had valid points. Camilla and Leticia looked at me with subtle expectation, as if waiting to see whose side I would take.
“Johan, what do you think? We should break through the gang territory, right? Let’s just drive through. I’ll shoot them all.”
Camilla winked at me.
“Let’s go peacefully. We’re not here to loot. We’re here to settle down. What good would come from stirring up a hornet’s nest? Let’s just break through the south or east.”
Leticia responded indifferently.
“C-Cassandra doesn’t really know… I’ve never been here before, so…”
But I know this city.
A city that stood like a fortress even in times of destruction. But for that very reason, it was incredibly difficult to reclaim.
Bayetra’s division into five districts is both its strength and weakness. When each district functions properly, they can help each other and repel external threats.
Now? The central area is filled with zombies, and fanatics and gangs have split the city in half. It’s somewhat unstable, but relatively stable nonetheless.
The two forces that have divided the city have strengthened their outer defenses while exchanging attacks. It would be difficult for a small group like us to break through. After all, it’s a city with a population of over a million.
“Leticia.”
“Yes?”
“When does the rainy season start? Can you get that information?”
“Just a moment.”
Leticia took out her laptop and connected to the network. Cassandra, who knew some programming, had made some “modifications.” It was very difficult to track our location, but the connection was a bit slow, so we had to wait patiently.
“The rainy season will come in about three weeks to a month. It’s particularly hot this year, so there’s a high chance of heavy rain. But why do you ask?”
“Just a moment. Cassandra?”
Cassandra, suddenly singled out, stammered in surprise.
“Uh, y-yes?”
“Diseases spread more easily in summer, right?”
“Yes. It’s… a favorable environment for viruses to spread. Especially when surroundings are unsanitary and public facilities aren’t functioning properly.”
“What if we do this?”
I pointed at the map. My finger traced exactly between the southern and western regions—the border between the southern fanatic zone and the western gang zone.
“With just the four of us, it’ll be difficult to break through the city’s outskirts, since the gangs and fanatics are wary of each other. But if we gradually erode this border and finally reach here…”
My finger extended to the central area, the zombie containment zone.
“Johan, you?”
Cassandra’s eyes widened. Camilla and Leticia asked, “What? What is it?” but she didn’t answer.
“Yes. You’re thinking what I’m thinking.”
Bayetra isn’t ruled by gangs or fanatics. It’s ruled by zombies.
And the area with the most zombies is the central district. They contained zombies there during the early stages of infection.
And we have a weapon that can infect zombies.
* * * * *
A fever has swept through Bayetra City.
Some might say, what’s the big deal about an epidemic in a devastated city? Water and electricity supplies broke down long ago, and even the sewage pumps have stopped working. Corpses litter the streets, and zombies wander aimlessly.
It’s not just humans who have turned into zombies.
Once-beloved pets and even the elegant stray cats that roamed the back alleys are the same. Animal zombies often show signs of self-harm, due to stress from hunger. Of course, most of it is fake hunger induced by the Limos virus, but animals can’t distinguish between real and fake hunger.
These beasts would attack anything that moved. They didn’t care whether it was a zombie or a human. But most often, they attacked other zombies.
Humans traveled by car or wore protective gear made from cans and such, making them very difficult to bite. So attacking other zombies was much safer and easier.
In such conditions, an epidemic was only natural.
But this epidemic was different.
Both humans and zombies suffered from the fever. The bizarre sight of zombies lying on dark streets, groaning, was seen in many places.
The gangs’ unlicensed doctors and the fanatics’ researchers thought, “Finally, the zombies are being naturally selected out!” But that wasn’t the case.
The zombies didn’t die. They just lay on the ground groaning, became easily incapacitated, and became easy prey for other zombies.
The observant defenders of the districts noticed that zombies who had “eaten” other infected zombies would also fall ill.
It was quite similar to the principle of pest control—feeding insects with bait containing non-degradable toxins, which then transfer to other insects that feed on their carcasses.
“Something seems off.”
That wasn’t the only strange thing.
Most zombies filling Bayetra’s streets would stupidly stand, sit and doze, or gnaw on something. They were the kind that wouldn’t care even if the zombie next to them was chewing on their leg.
But after the fever spread, their behavior patterns changed slightly. Groups of five or six were seen “hunting” other zombies in an organized manner.
“They’ve always done that. Eating ones covered in blood.”
“No.”
“No?”
“I’m sure of it. They tend not to eat those from the same group even if they’re splattered with blood.”
Such conversations circulated among gang leaders and fanatic regional heads.
Meanwhile, the rumors spreading among gang patrol members and fanatic enforcers were even more ominous.
“There’s a zombie with chains wrapped around its arms.”
“Chains? A zombie?”
“And those chains supposedly stretch out. It extends both arms, wraps the chains around its prey, then jumps up and chomp! Devours them.”
“Big guys have always shown monstrous movements even after becoming zombies. Isn’t it just one of those?”
“No. This one’s different. It wears a National Guard uniform. They say when it appears, you hear a clanking sound.”
Clank.
“Yes, just like that… Huh? What’s that!”
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