Ch.70Chapter 9. How to Bake an Apple Pie (5)

The whistle sound was sharp.

A soldier from the 14th National Military Police, holding a megaphone, shouted that they were proceeding with zone closure. Other soldiers pushed the pre-installed security slide doors to block the stairs.

Now people on each floor could neither go up nor down.

The café’s location was relatively safe. It was on the 8th floor of a 15-story building. For zombies to break in, they would have to breach through the 7th floor first.

The soldiers shouted through the megaphone.

“Evacuate to the safe zone in the central area! Gather at the safe zone! It’s inside the area marked with yellow strips on the floor and ceiling!”

People moved swiftly. Not because they were well-trained, but as a reflex developed from daily real-life experiences.

But Leticia and Johan didn’t go that way.

“This way!”

“Uh, where… Eek!”

Johan embraced Leticia and spun around quickly. Someone tumbled down with a thud right where she had been standing a moment ago.

But Leticia also lost her balance. Trying not to fall, she frantically grabbed the man’s shirt tightly.

Riiip! The not-so-thick shirt tore away. Johan, or rather Caesar, apparently wasn’t wearing an undershirt.

The man’s broad bare chest swayed right in front of Leticia’s face. The tangy, fragrant smell of alcohol made Leticia’s world seem to fade away. She felt dizzy.

‘Brother Hameln.’

For some reason, she thought of her older brother who was living well with his new sister-in-law in Römer. He seemed to be waving at her, beckoning her to come.

‘I can’t go now. I’m getting married soon.’

“…you okay?”

The man urged her.

“Yes. What?”

“I asked if you can walk!”

Leticia had always maintained top marks in physical fitness tests. Even in the current situation, with the wedding hall corridor seemingly right before her eyes, she had no problem at all.

“Yes! Of course!”

‘Hey, you stupid girl! You should have said your legs were too weak to walk so your future husband would support you!’ Her exasperated reason screamed at her.

Her reason, having successfully retreated, now kicked its way back into her brain. Only then did Leticia realize that she was standing in the women’s restroom, and that Caesar was right in front of her, throwing away his now-tattered shirt.

It was beyond her limit.

“Leti. I’m sorry, but could you take off one of your coats? I’ll return it later. I think I need to wear at least two layers to be safe.”

“You can just come as you are…”

Very naturally, Leticia put down her bag and took off her coat. Since she was wearing four layers on top, the outermost garment was loose enough for a man to wear.

But then.

“Oh…!”

Caesar’s chest and abdomen were covered in dark blue bruises.

With ordinary dating knowledge, one would easily recognize them as kiss marks, but people have different levels of knowledge. Even an elite officer can have many things she doesn’t know.

So to her, these were just bruises.

“Did you get hurt because of me?”

“Ah, no, it’s not like that. Don’t worry about it.”

Seeing the man stammer, Leticia thought she must be right. Then, without realizing it, tears welled up and spilled over.

‘I… was protected? By someone I just met today?’

People protect and are protected by each other. That’s common sense for ordinary people. Leticia knew that too.

But until now, she had never been protected by anyone. Even as an officer candidate, and now as an officer, she had always been the one who had to protect others.

And nowhere was there anyone who appreciated that. Because it was ‘natural’ for soldiers to protect people. Rather, people get ‘angry’ when they don’t protect them.

But soldiers are people too, and Leticia was a woman. In fact, even if she were a man, there would still be a desire deep down to be protected.

This man had fulfilled that desire.

‘I’m a person too. I’m a woman too…’

“It… must have… hurt… Wait… I’ll… help…”

“Huh?”

It’s also common ‘knowledge’ that at times like this, one should blow on the injury. And Leticia, who had applied thick bright red lipstick as part of her disguise, was quite drunk and unable to keep her balance.

Smooch –

‘Yes! That’s it! Smudge it more!’

She heard her reason clapping and cheering. Pleased with the praise, Leticia shook her head.

A long lipstick mark was left on the man’s chest. The lip shape was clear. Of course, it was far from the bruised area, but that didn’t matter.

‘I… I kissed a man! No. Wait. Since it wasn’t lips to lips, is it not a kiss… What is this?’

While she was engaged in this highly sophisticated contemplation, Caesar grabbed her shoulders with both hands.

“Listen carefully. Stay here and lock the door. No one will break in here. The safe zone over there is too dangerous with so many people. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Of course, Leticia understood perfectly.

“Hug me!”

“Sure.”

He really did give her a light hug. Leticia thought she wouldn’t mind if the world ended right then and there.

“Take good care of your bag!”

With those final words, the man left, wearing Leticia’s outer garment under his original coat. The door closed with a thud.

“Ah. Come to think of it, I didn’t hear his… problem. I wonder what it was.”

Still, she felt good. She had finally met her destined partner. But the cruel world would not allow a woman with a girl’s heart to remain in love forever.

Terrible screams echoed from below. Leticia staggered toward the restroom window.

“Ahhh, the window! That window!”

Beyond the window, dark things were swarming in. Birds. A flock of hungry crows.

Rat-tat-tat, the anti-aircraft battery installed on the rooftop fired at the flock of birds. The crows were huge, at least a meter long. With proper aim alignment, every shot would hit. There were just too many birds.

Countless birds fell to the ground, spraying blood and flesh. And below on the ground were civilians who hadn’t managed to escape.

Homeless people. Street thugs. People unprotected by society. People the military had given up on protecting.

“Open up! Open the door!”

No one would want to be showered with blood and flesh. But the people inside the building didn’t open the doors.

People who had already begun to zombify could be seen on the streets. Packs of zombie dogs and cats prowled the roads, tearing at anything they could find.

Meanwhile, the flock of birds spread widely across Hampton’s sky. It looked like dough that had been rolled out flat with a rolling pin.

The flock descended.

Screams could be heard from the street.

“Hey, you bastards, are you the only humans here?”

Crash! People who were denied entry to the building threw stones at the glass windows.

Ding-dong. Ding-dong!

‘Bell sounds?’

She had the direction but her field of vision was too narrow. Leticia clung to the wall and looked down. Fanatics were ringing bells.

She knew that fanatics carried shields. She also knew that in situations where bullets were flying, they would unfold dome-shaped barriers like turtle shells.

But she had never seen a sight like this before.

Homeless people and passersby ran toward the fanatics. They opened their shield formation to welcome the strangers. Those who entered also helped hold the shields.

‘They’re saving people.’

But there were many more who couldn’t reach them. They diligently threw stones at the glass walls of nearby buildings. Finally, someone inside couldn’t stand it anymore and fired a gun.

The glass shattered into pieces. A fight broke out between zombie dogs and cats, people inside, and those rushing in from outside.

A person who was becoming infected collapsed on the floor, convulsing. Some calmly shot a dog in the head, then shot themselves. Infection rates varied from person to person.

‘What is the 14th Military Police doing?’

Even though they were regular military police, not a special task force, they were the unit responsible for guarding Hampton’s borders.

They were known for their good armament and quality training. But the military police were holed up in buildings, doing nothing.

If Zone 13 was breached, the inner Zones 1-9 would also be breached. Hampton was too vast for them to guard, and there was too much to do.

So they had given up.

‘They should be launching an organized counterattack…’

Flap! A zombie crow flew to the window where Leticia was. After pecking hard at the window frame without success, it flew away.

“Aaaaargh!”

As the birds flew in, the screams below grew louder. More people threw stones at the glass walls. As cracks began to form in the reinforced glass…

A zombie crow hopped over and tapped on the window. Others joined in.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap! As if by agreement, they tapped the glass in a steady rhythm. Though a bit far away, Leticia could see the cracks in the glass wall growing larger.

Crows are naturally intelligent animals. It seems their intelligence hadn’t diminished much after becoming zombies. They even surrounded the people throwing stones at the wall without tearing at them.

‘…It’s going to break!’

Leticia quickly backed away from the window. As she retreated, she stood in front of the large bathroom mirror.

An unsightly woman stood there.

Her makeup, or whatever it was, had completely collapsed, and the bright red lipstick had smeared beyond her lips.

She looked just like a clown with a mouth split wide from side to side. It was an eerie smile that wouldn’t go away.

Even though she had only taken off one coat, her fashion sense was a mess, like a homeless person who had just thrown on whatever clothes were available.

Yet despite her appearance, he hadn’t pushed her away. Despite this terrible look, he had suddenly produced two pistols and protected her.

He likes alcohol, and he likes food. A person she had never met before. If she lost him now, she would never find someone like him anywhere.

Ah, but.

The Leticia in the mirror asked her with her eyes.

‘Will he like your true self too?’

She thought he would probably despise her. Just like others had. She already knew all too well how people viewed a female Elza soldier in a Römer uniform.

But the current situation was too dangerous. Even inside the building, violent tremors could be felt. People trapped on the floors were becoming infected one by one.

If she didn’t transform, she might not be able to protect him. If she didn’t change, more people would die.

“I’m used to… being the villain anyway.”

She’s already been cursed at. A few more curses won’t matter. As long as she can save her future husband, nothing else matters.

Leticia took out a bottle of whiskey from her bag. She lightly broke the seal and toasted her reflection in the mirror.

‘I’ll protect my man with my own hands.’

The girl in her late twenties steeled her resolve. To become a hero, she shouted a transformation phrase like the Pink Pink Magic Princess she had watched as a child.

“Pink Pink Magic Princess Leti, Trans! Form!”

She opened her throat and poured in the whiskey. To become a warrior, one must naturally perform a ritual.

“Gulp… gulp… gulp… kuhehe!”

As expected of Minsk whiskey. It’s on a different level from Elza and Römer. The whiskey ran down the corners of her mouth, but she left it there. No, she even poured it from the top of her head. She skillfully poured it on various parts of her face to wash away the makeup.

The clown makeup was removed, revealing Leticia’s proud baby-soft skin.

But to truly transform, one must change clothes.

Leticia is an elite. She must be ready to deploy at any time. Even if she doesn’t wear combat boots, she must wear her uniform. Even now.

Unfortunately, reality is heavy and harsh, so there was no magical scene where bandages whirled around and became a dress. But just by taking off the clothes she had forcibly put on one by one, her body felt much lighter.

She grabbed the last outer garment and tore it off. The top of her military uniform was revealed. The brilliant rank insignia, the proud emblem of the 8th Corps Special Task Force, the name tag that read ‘Leticia’.

A hero’s uniform.

She staggered a bit when taking off her pants, but since even she wasn’t looking in the mirror, it didn’t look too unseemly. Anyway, she stood properly in front of the mirror, so it was fine.

Blonde hair that reached her shoulders. Large, round blue eyes with a tear mole beneath. A pretty figure with a chest slightly large for her frame. But the smell of alcohol couldn’t be helped. She didn’t even try to hide it.

She could just say she was hit by a flying bottle of alcohol. Headache. Strange gait. Smell of alcohol. All of it would be explained.

“Hero, enters.”

With the bag containing the whiskey bottle slung over her shoulder, and after leaving a message on the mirror with lipstick in case he might see it, Leticia kicked open the bathroom door and ran out.

With nothing suitable to use as a weapon, she grabbed an iron pipe lying around.

Outside was hell. Normally she would have handled it calmly, but now anger was welling up from deep in her lower abdomen.

“Come to think of it, these zombie bastards… ruined my date…?”

People were screaming, and the stupid 14th National Military Police were just shooting at the ceiling to intimidate people.

Screech! Leticia dragged the iron pipe across the floor as she walked. People caught in the chaos took notice of her.

“Is, is that a zombie?”

Leticia banged on the iron door. Bang! Bang! Bang! Startled by the loud noise, people looked at her.

“I’m Leticia, Intelligence Staff Officer of the 8th National Military Police Special Task Force! Who’s the highest-ranking officer here? Why is everything such a mess? Why aren’t you following protocol!”

A hesitant soldier ran up and saluted.

“14th Military Police, 3rd Regiment, 1st…”

“Cut it out! Who’s in charge, I said!”

“I’m the squad leader, ma’am!”

The sergeant’s rank insignia was clear.

“Defense guidelines? Any orders from above? Ugh, my head…”

“Uh, none. Communications are cut off! But are, are you alright?”

“…Got hit by a falling bottle. I wasn’t bitten! Bring me a bulletproof helmet and a rifle! Given the emergency, I’m taking command! If anyone has a problem with that, tell them to contact the Special Task Force! What are you waiting for, hurry up!”