Ch.182Chapter 20. Patriot (34)

Elian was waiting for us with her eyes half-rolled back. The other women were the same. Of course, Catherine responded with her usual shameless expression. Catherine was the “Supervisor,” and no one anywhere could match her authority. Eventually, Elian resigned herself and began the briefing, barely taking a breath.

There were many zombies inside the campus. It had been one of the defensive bases where people quarantined in the central district gathered to protect themselves from those who had already turned into zombies. The narrow entrance, high walls, and good amenities were cited as reasons. The relatively abundant supplies inside the campus must have played a part too.

“The problem is that the people inside this campus eventually turned into zombies as well. They probably ate each other, so their numbers might have decreased somewhat, but the zombie density relative to the space is still estimated to be quite high. Therefore, I suggest we open the entrance and lure the zombies inside out to the campus exterior.”

It was a sensible plan. The problem was that we lived in a world that defied common sense.

“…You want to break through that?”

Not only had they welded the iron gate shut, but they had also reinforced it with thick steel plates, piled sandbags thickly on both sides, and added wire fencing. They’d even poured cement on top and embedded glass shards. Unless a tank came to push it down, it seemed impossible to breach.

“With the gate like that, how did they get in and out normally?”

“They must have used ladders.”

Elian pointed to a ladder abandoned beyond the wall. The wall, slightly taller than a person, looked sturdy, but the ladder was impressively long.

“So I’ve prepared a plan. First, a small team infiltrates through the ladder. As it happens, the building directly in front of us is where chemical engineering classes were held, so I thought we could combine explosive materials to blow up the entrance.”

That seemed better. I had considered pushing the wall down with a vehicle, but aside from the abundance of abandoned cars on the road, I wondered if there were any that still ran properly.

“I disagree,” Catherine said, shaking her head. Elian glared at her with a mix of jealousy and irritation. But Catherine remained calm.

“If a bomb goes off, zombies will swarm in, and we’ll be surrounded from both sides, even if we try to evacuate quickly from here. Since we have a ladder, why not infiltrate discreetly?”

“That would be difficult. I climbed that tree to look, and there were more zombies standing around than there were shrubs along the path. If we go in by ladder, we’ll end up trapped among densely packed zombies. It seems more advantageous in the long run to lure the zombies inside out.”

Both women turned their gaze toward me. They wanted me to make the decision.

“I think both opinions are valid. There are too many zombies inside, and our firepower isn’t enough to handle them all. It’s also true that we need to lure those inside out.”

“But how do we do it?”

Instead of answering, I kicked at the soil beneath the fence. The particles were quite coarse and completely dry.

“This ground. Don’t you think it would be easy to dig?”

* * * * *

Since we didn’t have many shovels, we had to bring road signs. But the ground gave way easily. With twenty people taking turns digging, a hole like a dog’s burrow was quickly formed. As expected, the area beneath the fence wasn’t that sturdy. After all, it was just a university campus building.

Of course, we placed supports under the fence to prevent it from collapsing too soon. When the fence began to sway at the slightest touch, we placed dry branches around a tree, lit a fire, and backed away. As the flames consumed the dead tree, the fence came crashing down with a rumbling sound. There was quite a bit of dust and noise, but nothing compared to an explosion.

“Forward!”

We rushed into the chemical engineering building. True to a university campus, the chemical products were labeled, making it easy to combine explosives. The deft hand movements made it hard to tell if we were terrorists making bombs or bartenders mixing cocktails.

“Throw it!”

We climbed to the rooftop and threw explosives and Molotov cocktails below. We had blocked the entrance with metal desks, but many zombies had already gathered. A rain of fire fell upon them.

“KYAAAAK!”

Zombies with their bodies on fire flailed their limbs. Walking fires on two legs spread widely across the campus. The acrid smell was so intense that we had to put on dust masks from the engineering building. The stench didn’t go away, but breathing became a bit easier.

After some time, we walked along a path where flesh sizzled as it burned. With each step, burnt flesh and ash rose into the air. All of us quickly evacuated, carefully choosing to step on pavement blocks free of soot.

And then, we reached the building in question. It was a newly built gymnasium.

“Where’s the entrance that leads down?”

“Over there on the side, behind the ATM.”

I could see a cleverly concealed “storage” iron door. The warning “No Entry Except Personnel – High Voltage” was clearly visible. But the door was rusty, and the warning sign was worn and peeling.

“Good, so we just need to go there now.”

As always, I tried to take the lead.

“No.”

Click. The sound of a gun being loaded. I turned around reflexively. It was Ali. Ali was pointing an M4 at me. Not just Ali, but the other men as well.

“…What are you doing, Ali?”

Catherine and Elian reproached him, but they paid no attention.

“I can’t let you have that place, Hoot. You’ve taken our women. Our leaders have forgotten their wisdom and been dragged here by your hand. You manipulate these people, control them.”

“Ali, what on earth are you saying?!”

Maya tried to step forward. I quickly waved my arm. Besides drawing zombie attention, I didn’t want to interrupt a man who had made up his mind.

“And so?”

“After much conflict, I realized. And all of us feel the same.”

The men gathered in a circle. They firmly shouldered their guns and placed their fingers on the triggers. This meant they were ready to shoot.

“If you fire here, we’ll all die!”

Catherine was furious. The man next to Ali nodded.

“That’s right. We can’t defeat all those zombies.”

“And yet…!”

Elian took a step forward.

“Don’t move! If you move even one step without our permission, we’ll shoot!”

“You bastards…! Do you think the Goddess will overlook this?!”

But Ali didn’t look at Elian. He deliberately avoided her gaze. He was clearly hiding his guilt. Had I caused too much pain to this pure man’s heart? But before I could speak, he pointed at me first.

“Hoot… you can reverse this whole situation, no, you can. We have only one demand.”

“I understand.”

Ali’s face became strange. What is it? Why that reaction? It looked similar to the face of a part-timer when someone complained about getting a pineapple pizza instead of the pepperoni they ordered.

“…Did you know?”

I know. That you liked Maya more than anyone else in the world.

“I knew.”

“…Then why did you do it?”

I needed to be alone in an open area to find the RV helicopter’s location, but the women wouldn’t leave me alone, so I had no choice but to engage in skinship—he probably wouldn’t accept that explanation. I wouldn’t either.

“Just as you have your own circumstances, Ali, I have mine.”

“That’s a… cowardly excuse.”

Yes, it is cowardly. Your childhood friend right in front of you… well, we weren’t dating, so I didn’t commit a sin, but still. It’s not exactly a pleasant genre.

“I’m sorry about that.”

“…Then show us. Show that remorse.”

I reluctantly dropped my arms. I prepared to reach for the holster at my waist. If a firefight broke out, I could certainly take him down. Unfastening the button on the holster, ready for a quick draw…

“How should I show it? What would convince you?”

“Love.”

There was a ringing in my ears. Everything went white before my eyes. It reminded me of times when I’d made a big mistake, like forgetting to mark my OMR card with one minute left on an exam.

“…What?”

Ali’s eyes seemed to moisten slightly.

“Why won’t you bestow your love on us? Because we’re not women? Are only women important, and not men…? I may not be as good as Maya, but I haven’t lived a bad life either…!”

No. This isn’t right. Something’s wrong. There was never any mention that pheromones distinguish between men and women. Come to think of it, the zombies that followed me were a mix of men and women. Wait a minute…!

“At first, I hated it too! Being attracted to a man was impossible! But behind you, there’s the scent of flowers, the aroma of chocolate, and the fragrance of nostalgia. I, we! We don’t deny it! Give us your love!”

“You’re insane. We won’t give up Lord Hoot!”

Maya screamed something similar and raised her nails. Other women jumped in front of the gun barrels.

‘Camilla! Leticia! Cassandra! Do it!’

A loud siren sounded. Our friends at City Hall were finally doing their job. The countless footsteps of zombies could be heard. But among them was a sound that only I could hear.

The tiny sound of RV cars and helicopters rushing and flying toward us. A small sound that no one would notice unless they knew in advance.

The sound that would extract me from this hell of love.