Ch.73Chapter 10. My Savior Who Came to Ruin You (2)

A chubby man. Plump jowls that somehow seemed to be pushed upward. And the background was clearly the floor. It was a selfie taken while lying down.

This wasn’t some celebrity vlog—why would a soldier on a mission take a photo from this angle?

In an emergency situation, it might make sense. But judging by the lengthy text accompanying it, this didn’t seem like a situation where someone was frantically fighting for their life.

Since I couldn’t tell what was going on, I needed to ask. I turned on my phone’s video recording and shoved it in front of the guy collapsed on the floor. I couldn’t let my voice be recorded, so I covered my mouth with my fist and showed him the photo.

“Hey. You’re from the Liberation Corps, right? What’s this?”

“I-I won’t tell you anything!”

“Thanks.”

I stopped the video recording and took a photo of him. I uploaded both to the group chat.

“W-what do you mean ‘thanks’?”

“If you didn’t know what it was, you would’ve said ‘What is that?’ But instead, you said ‘I won’t tell you.’ If a Liberation Corps member wearing Military Police clothes doesn’t want to tell me what they’re doing, isn’t it obvious to anyone?”

I kindly typed out a message right in front of him:

– One shot from the basement of District 13 Shopping Center^^* But where exactly is Mr. Oberon that he’s lying flat on his back taking selfies?

Whistling, I collected the weapons from the fallen agents. Too lazy to open their pouches and take out the magazines, I just stripped off their vests entirely and placed them in the trunk. I loaded the rifles and pistols next to them.

Leticia would handle the rest.

“I’m leaving. And if you keep making a scene, that zombie gentleman over there will go ‘this guy’ and chomp on you, got it?”

I grabbed his phone, got into the car, and started the engine. Vroom. A heavy engine sound. I drove out of the underground parking lot with momentum.

“Bit of a shame.”

It was a nice car. Terrible fuel economy since it was an off-road vehicle, but the kind that could carry a full load and even pull a small trailer without slowing down.

The problem was that it was clearly marked as a “14th National Military Police Operations Vehicle” with camouflage paint—obviously a military vehicle that couldn’t be sold anywhere.

Come to think of it, the C4 explosives in the trunk were the same. They were clearly military-grade. Even if I tried selling them on the black market, it would be risky with the syndicate that had military connections controlling this area.

“A blessing and a curse…”

Well, can’t be helped. What needs to be discarded should be discarded boldly. If I try to take everything and end up getting blown up, I’d be the only one losing out.

I’d already collected two solar panels, a power bank, various electronic devices, and a decent amount of cash from the back seat. This was plenty profitable already.

Finally, I reached the surface.

The flock of birds was still circling in the sky, though their numbers had decreased. They were clinging to the walls of buildings like black masses, seemingly intent on pecking at the humans inside, paying little attention to the ground.

Instead, zombies were creeping out from alleys, sewers, and buildings.

These zombies definitely behaved differently from those in the unprotected zones. Those were consumed by hunger, frantically devouring anything edible nearby. These were different.

Some ate what they wanted, some just stood still, but most charged at nearby humans in rage.

People weren’t just standing around either. Soldiers and civilians were fighting fiercely together. But most were isolated like islands, causing their firepower to be too scattered.

Among them, I spotted a group of fanatics. Still holding shields and wielding long glaives, they were cutting down approaching zombies.

Their spear movements were slow, and their shields were gradually lowering, but the metal cans wrapped around their bodies and the thick vinyl at every joint seemed to be somewhat effective against zombie teeth and claws.

But they wouldn’t hold out much longer.

The murder of crows was emerging from the building again. They were covered in blood with something clutched in their beaks. Having found food, they were heading back.

The crows that hadn’t found food were behaving more aggressively. The number of zombies was steadily increasing, while people’s ammunition was running out.

“…Well, I don’t want more zombies around.”

Just then, a good idea came to mind.

* * * * *

Just below the top floor of the shopping center.

The number of crows had decreased, but zombies coming up from below were increasing. Rifle barrels were overheating, and ammunition needed to be conserved.

Swish. Swish. Swish.

But photos were being uploaded to the chat room in real-time.

“What on earth is all this?”

Leticia couldn’t believe her eyes. A soldier from the 14th Military Police Traffic Division was busily uploading photos, each one stranger than the last.

– Delivering C4 to our hardworking soldiers.

One showed soldiers taking C4 explosives from a vehicle and setting them up in alleys.

– Delivering donated supplies to civilian protection groups.

Another showed fanatics who worshipped the Goddess of Hunger firing R-15 rifles and throwing grenades.

– Weather’s not great, but still enjoying a city drive ^^

There was even a short video of zombies being led in a horde behind a car. The video ended with the zombies gathering at the center of a C4 trap set by the Military Police and exploding.

– Good news 🙂 I hear C4 bombs are being delivered to the gathering point Mr. Oberon told us about! First come, first served—use them wherever they’ll be useful!

– By the way, if you share photos of your current location, it’ll be easier to coordinate responses. Anyone not taking photos is suspicious!

No sooner had the message appeared than photos began flooding the messenger chat. Everyone was sharing their locations.

The smarter soldiers used the “share current location” feature to broadcast their positions. Officers and soldiers who could see each other’s positions on the map began exchanging ideas.

They were the Military Police after all, with expertise in crushing gathered crowds. The only difference was that their targets were zombies they were allowed to shoot, not citizens demanding Elza’s independence.

Ring. Ring.

Leticia’s work phone rang. It was the 8th Military Police Special Task Force command center. Without hesitation, she answered.

– Hey, Lieutenant. Need backup?

The commander’s spine-chilling voice had never sounded so welcome.

Two hours later, martial law was declared in Hampton under the name of Kamio Minto, Commander of the 8th National Military Police.

Six hours later, the chaos in Hampton ended.

* * * * *

Power was restored.

The city buildings lit up brightly. Cleaners in safety equipment emerged to remove corpses, while 8th and 14th Military Police members in protective gear protected the cleaners and shot zombies.

Surviving civilians and soldiers embraced each other in temporarily erected quarantine tents, celebrating their survival.

It was miraculous to see people who had barely avoided shooting each other now blessing and washing one another. No one knew what tomorrow would bring, but today was a good day.

Because of this, Leticia had to grit her teeth and remain seated. On such a joyous day, it would be undignified for an officer to lie on the tent floor snoring.

Above all, she was devastated about losing her bag. It had definitely been nearby. Where could it have gone?

‘…I’ll have to ask my fiancé to buy me more.’

There was some commotion outside the tent, and then Commander Virginia appeared. She flicked away a cigarette butt and stood at the exit. Leticia staggered toward the commander.

“No, just sit on the floor. Don’t salute, you look like you can barely stand. Briefing can wait.”

“…What exactly happened here, ma’am?”

“V.”

Virginia lit another cigarette. She cupped it to prevent the smell from spreading inside the tent.

“V gave us brief information. Said they left a 14th Military Police vehicle and phone somewhere in Hampton for us to find. I was already on standby because the Hampton situation seemed off, so I had no reason to hesitate anymore. I didn’t expect to find you here, though.”

This sounded strange to Leticia.

“Didn’t you deploy after martial law was declared, ma’am?”

“No, it was the opposite. I took the arrest team and detained the mayor and all civil servants for dereliction of duty, and then the main force arrived and declared martial law.”

“What?!”

Leticia mentally ran through the list of treason charges. The commander’s actions fit those criteria exactly. But Virginia remained calm.

“With the administrative functions paralyzed, our old commander comfortably declared martial law. The 8th Military Police peacefully took over the duties of the 14th, and we’re now establishing a new order. In my judgment, this was the fastest way to restore Hampton.”

Virginia took a deep drag from her cigarette. Leticia thought she looked elegant but somehow distorted. She wondered if such things should be spoken about so casually.

“What exactly happened to the 14th Military Police?”

Virginia calmly explained the results so far.

Liberation Corps operatives had begun their activities just as the zombie crow flock arrived.

They had bombed the power station to disrupt electricity and precisely attacked the 14th National Military Police headquarters and communications unit, paralyzing them.

In particular, the problematic Commander Oberon was already dead. As the unnamed soldier had pointed out, he was lying on the floor with his lower body blown off.

“However, the Liberation Corps members weren’t skilled at manipulating communications equipment. So they seized Oberon’s phone, randomly invited people to messenger group chats, and issued nonsensical gathering orders to meet at safe zone passages.”

“Why would they give such orders…?”

“Their real target was Zones 1-9, the inner safe zone. They wanted to push zombies in there to completely contaminate Hampton.

As you know, the safe zone is protected by barriers, and the 14th Military Police has quite good equipment. So they deliberately gathered them in one place, planning to detonate C4 bombs all at once to collapse both the Military Police and the barriers.

If everything had gone according to their plan, you can imagine what would have happened.”

It was obvious. Hampton, the largest city in the south-central region, would be disgraced for failing to stop the incoming bird flock and allowing the virus to spread.

Elza’s citizens would lose trust in the government and military. In a situation where the government and military were already treating citizens oppressively, if word spread that they couldn’t protect people even when they followed instructions, the situation would have spiraled out of control.

“We need to investigate further how they managed to infiltrate to this extent. Perhaps staying in the region too long led to corruption and complacency.

Anyway, I feel somewhat indebted to this V person. Last time they made fools of us, and now we’re receiving their help… Are they really from the moderate faction of Elza’s intelligence? Neither cooperating nor opposing us, only concerned with Elza citizens’ welfare. Arrogant bastard…”

“Is it because they’re a long-term operative who’s gone off the grid?”

At Leticia’s question, Virginia nodded.

“Neither black nor white, just running around the chessboard as they please—how could I like that? By the way, Lieutenant, you did something remarkable. How did you think to block the entrance to the District 13 shopping center in uniform, even blatantly overstepping your authority? Weren’t you off duty and sleeping?”

Leticia’s face reddened. It would be embarrassing no matter how she explained it.

“Well, it was close to my home… and death doesn’t distinguish between on-duty and off-duty. The 14th Military Police situation was clearly abnormal. And also…”

‘Wait, who’s she to talk about overstepping authority when she stormed the city hall?’

Feeling somewhat indignant, Leticia looked at Virginia confidently.

“I judged it to be the best course of action in that situation.”

“That’s how I plan to report it. I’ll strongly recommend you for a commendation. Our old commander is foaming at the mouth saying you should be disciplined. Old dogs always go on about hierarchy and such.”

“Commander? Could I just sleep for one more day? Medals or whatever, I just want to get more sleep.”

Virginia raised one corner of her mouth. She nodded, stepped back briefly, and returned with a familiar bag.

“Indeed. Perhaps over a glass of Minsk wine.”

“How… how did you…”

Leticia was shocked. She never imagined Virginia would bring this. She had thought it was lost in the chaos.

“The soldiers unanimously told me this bag was yours. And personal belongings must be disinfected as per protocol. There were no issues. The wine inside is quite excellent.”

‘I hope she won’t interrogate me about where I got it.’

As Leticia worried, she noticed the commander’s expression.

Her mouth was smiling faintly, but her eyes looked sad. It was an expression Leticia had never seen before.