Ch.34Chapter 5. Having No Secrets Is a Poor and Empty Thing (5)

Hans believed that man was a spy from Minsk in the Western States.

A calculating, petty, self-serving materialist who trusted nothing but contracts, and even played dirty tricks to exploit others—that spy from Minsk.

Camilla didn’t expect much from the man’s character. That’s why she only looked at his skills.

Not only had he broken through Lambert’s Purgatory on his own, but hadn’t he also tried to kidnap a doctor from the Disease Control Bureau amid the chaos?

Although he failed at the kidnapping, his resourcefulness was impressive.

‘With that person, I probably won’t die.’

Though her head was spinning from the confusion, Camilla tried desperately to maintain her composure.

‘That is, if I don’t get shot by him or collapse from high blood pressure.’

Judging by how calmly he could get under people’s skin, he clearly had expertise in psychological warfare.

‘How many people has he attacked like this before? How many has he manipulated this way?’

Camilla couldn’t even imagine. At the very least, it was clear he was an opponent she couldn’t handle, either physically or mentally.

Her throat was dry, her stomach hungry, and her body a mess. She had to use every trick to prevent the shaking motorcycle from overturning, which had completely drained her strength.

Now she could barely see what was in front of her.

‘…Earlier, maybe I should have just shot him.’

When she finally found traces of V, he was surrounded by a horde of zombies. She saw V climbing onto a car. It was a brief moment, but not so brief that she couldn’t pull the trigger.

But shooting the zombie’s head instead of V was her decision.

‘Why do I keep making the wrong decisions?’

No. This wasn’t the time to think about her dead teammates.

Camilla steeled herself. Having come this far, she needed to see it through.

As if to show her intentions, she placed her rifle and pistol on the ground and nudged them forward with her foot. She didn’t push them too far, keeping them within view of the side mirror. Next, she pushed forward her motorcycle helmet and bulletproof vest.

When she felt feverish, an unpleasant coldness crept up her body. Her vision became even more blurry. Camilla knocked on the van, but her voice was too hoarse to speak properly.

“See? I’m unarmed. In five seconds, I’m stepping into your line of fire. Shoot if you want. But I’d like you to hear me out.”

She stepped back ten paces.

Now just one more step to the side would put her in the line of fire.

She remembered the first time she went diving. The water rippling far below looked like a hard floor. If she turned around, she could still return to the safe world.

But she didn’t turn back then. She took one step forward, then another. Before that painful day came, she had been free, happy, and comfortable in the water.

‘…If I’ve always made wrong decisions in life anyway, might as well make one more. The negation of a negation is an affirmation, after all.’

One step. Another step forward. She turned around. She could see the muzzle of the M4 carbine gleaming. The glinting light seemed to pierce her eyes and drill into her head, causing Camilla to sink to her knees.

“OverArmor?”

“…What?”

She didn’t understand what he was saying. The man asked again.

“I asked if that’s an OverArmor product.”

The man pointed at her bulletproof vest.

“Oh. Y-yeah. I think so.”

“You’ve got a good one.”

“Take it if you want.”

“Thanks.”

“Just saying…”

Camilla collapsed.

“Cough. Cough.”

“Were you bitten? I can make it easier for you if you were.”

Camilla jumped to her feet.

“N-no. No. I, I wasn’t bitten.”

“A dying person suddenly getting energetic—you were definitely bitten. Hold still. Let me use your pistol. The one with the silencer. Hey. Hey hey hey. Stop. What are you doing? Aren’t you going to lower your arm?”

She lowered her arm, but her raised shirt remained up, revealing her bruised abdomen and slender waist, which embarrassed her.

“…I told you I wasn’t bitten. I’ll take off all my clothes so you can check.”

“You think I’ll fall for that? Taking off clothes to hide something? Not falling for it. Step back from where you’re standing. That’s right. Good. So, what did you want to say?”

She lowered her shirt as she stepped back. She spoke the words she had practiced throughout the motorcycle ride.

“Let’s travel together.”

“No thanks.”

She had expected this, but hearing it still crushed her spirit. Her legs gave out, and Camilla slumped to the ground.

“…Why? I’m a good shot. I drive pretty well too. I’m not the type to be a burden. I can pull my own weight. I was the one who shot that zombie’s head off. You know that, right?”

“I know. You followed me all the way here on a motorcycle and even shot out my precious van’s tire. And that zombie earlier—you didn’t need to step in.”

“It’s not fair for you to treat me like this.”

Camilla stood up again, fueled by anger. The man seemed dumbfounded, gripping his M4 more firmly but still just watching.

“You owe me your life. You know that? The fire truck behind Lambert. I was on it. We were the ones who moved according to your signals. I admit you shot impressively, almost like a stunt. But do you think it would have been possible without our help?”

But the man seemed unimpressed.

“Well, considering you didn’t get off when the 8th Military Police ordered you to, it seems you’re being hunted too.”

“That’s right. I’m being hunted. Like you. That’s why I’m suggesting we join forces. You can’t survive here alone. I can be helpful to you.”

The man appeared to be considering it. Then he let out a deep sigh.

“There are MREs in the back of the van. Take two of those. And a bottle of water. If that’s not enough for saving my life, I can give you a can of food too. And bullets? Take about ten. 5.56mm, right?”

“Suddenly talking about payment for saving your life?”

“I believe in fair value. Take those and go. What? Not enough?”

‘Value,’ he says.

Camilla’s head spun. Typical stingy Western talk.

“…I won’t get angry. But that’s not what I was hoping for. What I want is different. I want to move with you.”

“You want to be friends?”

Camilla couldn’t stand the man’s brazen words.

“Look. Can you stop saying that? I feel like I’m going to cry. You don’t want to see that, right? Neither do I.”

The man nodded at Camilla’s protest. Annoyingly, he seemed full of confidence.

“I crossed a line. Sorry. The truth is, I don’t have much either. I wasn’t trying to mock you.”

‘That’s not what I meant.’

Something seemed off to Camilla. But considering the man’s circumstances, it wasn’t incomprehensible.

Why would a Western spy make many friends here? If he did befriend someone, it would be to hide his identity or to use them.

He was clearly rejecting unnecessary human relationships. He probably wouldn’t deal with anyone unless they had value to him.

“I’ll be honest. I’m a member of the Elsa Liberation Corps. Hans sent me and my comrades to retrieve the bag.”

Wariness flickered in the man’s eyes. She saw him grip his M4 more firmly. But Camilla had a nothing-to-lose attitude.

Having died and come back to life, she didn’t want to leave any regrets.

“The mission failed, and everyone who came with me died. They were good people, but I made bad judgments.

You don’t know this, but there was a comrade who betrayed us in Lambert. He was turning into a zombie, so I shot him in the head, but before he died, he told me. That Hans was deceiving me. That bag you had—it contained a virus.”

“What?”

The man was shocked. Camilla was glad they could share the same emotion.

“Hard to believe, right? I couldn’t believe it either. The traitor said he had revealed all our hideout and base locations. Listening to the radio, it seems they’ve already been attacked. I don’t know where we’ve relocated to. Hans only gives partial information to his operatives to prevent information leaks.”

“So you want to kill me and take me to your comrades?”

The man’s observation was sharp, but it was a reasonable assumption. Camilla shook her head.

“No. I don’t want to go back for now. Until I find out what Hans is really doing, I won’t go back. The bag? If it really was a virus bomb, it’s better to destroy it. I don’t agree with that kind of thing.”

The man seemed to be thinking. He relaxed his grip but didn’t lower the muzzle. The glinting sunlight seemed to pierce her eyes, making Camilla dizzy.

“I have no more secrets. Nothing I want to hide. Just ask. I’ll tell you everything. Use me. Use me as zombie bait or as a human shield. Just don’t touch my body and don’t sell me to the Römers and their lackeys. That’s enough for me.”

“That doesn’t seem like a reason for us to travel together.”

“…What?”

The man completely lowered his muzzle. At least that’s what it looked like. Her vision was too blurry to be sure.

“I don’t particularly want to use you. I don’t know what value you’re talking about, but I’ll handle my own business. I understand your situation, but it has nothing to do with me.

And what? Human shield? Asking me to use you? I’ve seen countless comrades who survived life-and-death situations suddenly pull guns, steal everything, and run away.

There’s no such thing as lifelong trust. I acknowledge your skills, but I’m skilled too. So take what you need and go. I’ll handle the van myself. What are you even saying?”

“…Sorry. I misjudged you.”

Camilla stood up. Staggering, she yanked open the back of the van. Her ears were ringing, but she grabbed whatever she could see.

Her throat was so dry that she tore open a water bottle. Her lips stung painfully when they touched the water, but she tilted her head back and gulped it all down.

She grabbed whatever MREs she saw. She didn’t count how many. After drinking the water, her stomach felt like it was turning inside out.

Staggering, Camilla walked away.

“You’re a coward. You know that?”

She shouted at something vaguely human-shaped.

“You act tough, act like you don’t care about being alone, but the truth is you’re afraid of betrayal. How many people go through life without experiencing that? Do you think you’re the only one who’s lost something in this world? We’re all the same!”

She felt drunk though she hadn’t had any alcohol. Camilla thought it must be the sunlight. Seeing black heat waves rising from the far end of the road, she really did seem drunk.

No. These were words she was saying to herself, Camilla realized. Using the man as a mirror, she was actually saying what she herself wanted to hear. She thought she was doing something inappropriate, accosting a stranger like this.

“You think you’re the only one in the world with nowhere to go!”

Footsteps sounded. The man ran up behind her. He picked up a gun from the ground and struck her back. Without even making a sound, Camilla fell forward. The man’s arm grabbed her waist, but she was too weak to shake him off.

‘…Looks like I made another wrong decision.’

A black wave-like mass was approaching from the far end of the road. The asphalt was so hot that Camilla curled up. Thinking she was like meat cooking on a grill made her laugh.

Psst. Psst.

With the sound of rifle fire as her lullaby, she passed out.