Ch.154Chapter 20. Patriot (6)

I remember it was when I was a Private First Class. There were two Sergeants in our squad who were close friends, but they had completely different ways of handling subordinates. One would let things slide unless you made a huge mistake, while the other would nitpick every little thing and never let anything go.

Normally, people tend to like those who treat them well, and that was indeed the case. But then one day, someone made a “truly serious mistake.”

I don’t remember exactly what it was. I only clearly recall how the angel-like senior soldier completely lost it. It was such an extreme change that I wondered if he had always been that kind of person. Even the senior who usually nitpicked everything was saying, “Hey, hey, calm down,” trying to stop him.

After that day, many things changed. People said they were “disappointed” in the once-angelic senior, claiming they “didn’t know he was that kind of person.” Meanwhile, the nitpicky senior gained favor, with people saying, “He actually has some good qualities after all.”

It seemed strange to me how evaluations could flip so dramatically—between someone who treated you well but disappointed you once, versus someone who was usually difficult but was kind just once.

The reason this military memory suddenly came to mind was because Leticia’s methodology was exactly like the latter.

We passed through the tent village on the elevated highway and arrived at another tent settlement.

This neighborhood was a fairly large open space with iron fences installed here and there, resembling a maze. Any adult with average intelligence could easily find their way out, but it would be somewhat difficult for a zombie brain. The fence posts were firmly planted in the ground, making them hard to push over with ordinary strength.

For several days, Leticia observed my methods. I did what I usually did—releasing zombies, encouraging them to fight as many others as possible, watching for humans, and providing cover for our zombies. By the third day, Leticia seemed to have fully grasped my approach, performing perimeter security, cover fire, and zombie support without needing instructions.

“So, what do you think?” I asked.

Leticia answered without hesitation.

“I think you should be stricter with the zombies. You treat them like pet dogs. Is that really necessary?”

That was her first comment.

“But I thought treating them like pets was the right approach. That’s how you maintain a good relationship over time.”

I was confident in my theoretical training, having watched many pet YouTube videos. But Leticia seemed to have different ideas.

“I don’t consider animals that bite the hand that feeds them as pets. Especially ones that bare their teeth and growl at their owners, or those that don’t even recognize or care who you are. Of course, you’ve established a clear hierarchy, but you seem to be accommodating them too much.”

That made me curious about her approach.

“How would you do it?”

“Will you let me show you tomorrow? Though it might be a bit tough.”

“I don’t mind.”

The next day, I immediately regretted saying that.

“Release the zombies.”

Leticia first let the zombies loose. The same routine began again. Biting, infecting, spraying—while the remaining local zombies either fled, collapsed on the ground growling, or got eaten.

Normally, I would have either left the bitten ones to become infected or finished spraying them, then put our well-behaved zombies back in the truck. The military police zombie and the proactive foursome seemed to know this, as they lingered around the truck. But they didn’t get inside the cargo area.

“See? Those guys are perceptive. They know the job is done and it’s time to go home. But why aren’t they getting in?”

Leticia spoke like a true instructor.

“Because I haven’t thrown them canned food?”

“Exactly. That’s what they’re waiting for.”

Leticia pulled out something she had prepared in a plastic bag. It was an empty tin can. She glared at the watching zombies and threw the empty can into the cargo area.

The zombies rushed inside. A moment later, angry howls erupted. The military police zombie jumped out of the cargo area, rattling its chains. Leticia seemed a bit scared, sticking close to me, but still shouted with impressive authority.

“You want canned food?”

“GYAAAAARGH!”

“Then earn it! Do you think canned food grows on trees? We’ve saved all this for you by not eating or wearing what we need! Don’t take it for granted!”

Leticia shouted at the top of her lungs. The way she thrust her head forward with her upper body leaning in gave me a strange sense of déjà vu. It was exactly the same posture zombies showed when they were full of discontent.

‘Wait, could it be?’

“KYAAAARK!”

“What, you bastards! What! I’m the boss here! Get out there and catch more! No more canned food if you don’t!”

Leticia took out a can from her plastic bag and hurled it over the fence. The local zombies who had retreated after the earlier attack were angry, but our zombies’ fury was greater.

“KYARUK, KAK! KAK!”

“…how is this working?”

Incredibly, the zombies that had been throwing tantrums rushed en masse beyond the fence. Leticia put her hands on her hips as if to say “See that?”

“Isn’t your arm tired? It must have been hard to throw an empty can that far.”

“Not really. I filled it with stones.”

“……”

Our zombies frantically searched for the can that had rolled somewhere, not knowing what was inside it. Of course, the local zombies who had retreated after being attacked had no idea what was happening and were busy baring their teeth and attacking our zombies.

“KYAAAARK!”

Naturally, our guys didn’t take it lying down. As if determined to let nothing stand between them and the canned food, they swung their arms violently and even threw their opponents.

The fighting style was different from before. Until now, it had been fighting for “hunting.” But now the biting and chewing motions were gone, replaced by more of a “fighting” pattern of shooing away annoyances.

This created quite a few openings, but with me and Leticia properly covering their backs, no major problems arose.

CRASH!

“Well, well.”

In the midst of this, a garbage can in the open area tipped over. It seemed to have been properly sorted for recycling, as canned goods spilled out. Our zombies completely ignored what they had been fighting for and rummaged through the spilled cans indiscriminately.

“My, my.”

Even the zombies who had just become “our side” through acute infection, and even those who had been biting each other moments ago, were caught up in the atmosphere. Suddenly, they were all digging through garbage as if there might be something valuable there.

“Easy.”

Leticia crossed her arms as if it were nothing.

“Easy?”

“Easier than handling new recruits. Just don’t let them buy snacks. After three weeks, they’ll fall in line. Want to know something? Officer candidates are the same. Just let them loose but control their snacks, drinks, and cigarettes, and they’ll do anything to please you. That’s human nature. If you restrict everything, they go crazy and act out, but if you restrict just one small thing, they try to compromise. These guys don’t seem any different.”

Though she said this, Leticia glanced at me, checking my reaction.

“What do you think? This is my methodology.”

Her puppy-like expression, seemingly hoping for praise, made me laugh.

“It’s impressive. It would have taken me at least two more days to get this far, but you’ve already pioneered to this point.”

Leticia looked extremely pleased.

“Did I do well? Better than her, at least?”

“What I expect from you and what I expect from Camilla are different. But you exceeded my expectations, Leticia.”

“Hmph.”

Leticia gazed contentedly at the zombies rummaging through the garbage. Watching her, I became curious about one thing.

“So when are we going home?”

Leticia looked at me strangely.

“Go where?”

“…Huh?”

“Look. We’ve just broken through here. We need to push forward. ‘Don’t be satisfied with small achievements. If you’ve created an opening, exploit it to achieve greater results.’ That’s the most basic principle. My former superior used to say that too. Don’t tell me you want to stop here?”

Leticia looked at me with challenging eyes. It was a deliberate provocation implying, ‘Surely you’re not going to admit you’re worse than Virginia.’ A provocation I knew I had to take.

“How far are we going?”

“Until those guys have used all their capabilities. Until they’ve caused as much chaos as they can and made as much noise as possible.”

Would it be dangerous? It didn’t seem so. Gang members and fanatic patrollers did show up, but they largely didn’t interfere with zombie fights. So as long as we kept ourselves well hidden, there shouldn’t be major problems. However, I was concerned about being separated from the main group, so I contacted Camilla.

– Ah, I see. So until now, we’ve been releasing zombies, but Leticia’s approach is to have the zombies clear the path and we follow behind?

“That’s the idea. It’s a bit riskier, but…”

– Doesn’t sound bad to me. If we’re just talking about risk, it’s not safe here either. The problem is we have three vehicles here, and Cassandra and I can’t move them all. We’ll have to make multiple trips?

“Can’t be helped. Just come for now. You know the address, right?”

After hanging up, I felt somewhat angry at Leticia. Who was she comparing with whom?

“Leticia. Come here for a second.”

“Why?”

“Present your backside.”

I smacked her with my open palm. “Ouch!” she yelped.

“What was that for? All of a sudden?”

“Were you just comparing me to Virginia?”

Something flashed in Leticia’s eyes.

“I was. Why? You always compare me to Camilla. Can’t I do the same?”

“Do I need to show you who’s superior?”

“So far, Virginia’s still on top.”

Leticia gave a sly smile while gently swaying her hips. Feeling even more annoyed, I pulled her slightly into the cargo truck.

“I think I need to show you who’s in charge before the others arrive.”

“Resorting to physical means because words aren’t enough? How disappointing, that’s unexpected.”

Leticia made a circle with her thumb and index finger and brought it to her mouth. I couldn’t hold back any longer.

Four days later, we reached the center.