Ch.82Chapter 11. Doing Our Best in Our Respective Positions (5)

Shortly after the zombie outbreak, a bill was passed allowing civilians to possess and use firearms.

As a safety precaution, firearms other than handguns had to be carried in bags or cases and used only when absolutely necessary.

And right now, Hampton was precisely one of those “absolutely necessary” situations.

Captain Camio Minto of the 8th National Military Police, who had declared martial law in Hampton, also issued a directive to “lift weapons restrictions in outer districts.”

Now civilians in Hampton’s outskirts could freely carry and use automatic rifles, shotguns, and other weapons without needing bags or cases.

However, contrary to some concerns, people weren’t shooting those they disliked and claiming, “I shot a zombie, not a person.”

Most citizens stayed in groups to prepare for emergencies, and with zombies potentially lurking around any corner, everyone was on edge—creating an atmosphere where people were actually more careful and cautious around each other.

On the surface, the outer districts seemed to be recovering.

Citizens hastily covered broken walls with wooden boards secured by nails. City-dispatched cleaners went wherever gunshots were heard to collect bodies.

Meanwhile, social media-savvy individuals gathered reports to mark “definitively safe zones” and “unsafe zones.” Thanks to this, people avoided unnecessarily checking already secured areas or carelessly wandering through dangerous districts.

And they all kept their news feeds open.

“Look at this.”

People paused their work to look at their phones. Live helicopter footage showed ground-level roads.

– The National Military Police are pursuing high-priority criminals. All gates except District 4 Gate will be closed. We ask for citizens’ understanding.

“Who the hell are these guys that they’ve got the military police swarming after them? Looks like a presidential escort.”

“They should’ve been this proactive when the zombie outbreak happened.”

“Just making the soldiers work harder. But seriously, who are these people causing all this commotion?”

Another person watching the news showed their phone.

“Look at this. They blew up part of the safe district wall with explosives. Must have been in quite a hurry.”

“They blew up what?”

The gathered crowd exclaimed in amazement. From the perspective of outer district residents, incompetent officials and military leadership deserved all the criticism they got, but the people inside the safe district were particularly despised.

So hearing that someone had blown up part of the wall separating the outer districts from the safe district—even if just a section—was satisfying news.

“Whoever they are, I hope they don’t get caught. And I hope they blow up more while they’re at it. Those bastards in the safe district are probably just lounging comfortably in front of their TVs right now.”

Though they weren’t telling the citizens, the military police were making their own efforts.

Commander Virginia was well aware of people’s anger. Since automatic rifles were now permitted in outer areas, unnecessary provocation could lead to bloody conflicts between the military police and civilians.

Especially now, when everyone was on edge.

So Commander Virginia strictly limited the use of firearms by the military police. It wasn’t “prohibited,” so they could use them if necessary, but indiscriminate firing like usual was not allowed.

Instead, they decided to use motorcycles to guide and restrict movement, giving them time to set up roadblocks on the outer highways.

So far, neither the military police motorcycles nor the three vehicles had fired any shots. They were merely maintaining threatening postures.

But neither Virginia, nor the outer district citizens, knew what was happening in Safety District 4.

* * * * *

More people than you might expect work on their days off. Leticia was one such person in a specialized field, and she held quite a high position.

True to her disciplined nature, she had excellent stress-relief methods. On her days off, her secret was to get completely drunk and sleep soundly.

But not today.

Having thrown off her embarrassing knit dress and changed into comfortable clothes, Leticia stood hesitating in front of her refrigerator.

“I’d like a drink, but I probably shouldn’t. My thighs and lower belly can’t get any thicker. Gotta maintain my figure, Leticia. You don’t want a beer belly either.”

The embarrassment of having shown what shouldn’t have been seen had long since faded. All that remained was regret—wondering if she could have looked prettier since it had been seen anyway.

Besides, when they got married, or even before that, if they lovingly undressed each other, showing their underwear and swaying seductively, he would approach as if entranced… or perhaps Leticia herself would grab his collar and push him onto the bed…

Anyway, she needed to restart her fitness regimen with such scenarios in mind. She was thinking about building more muscle and running more when—

A boom… sound reached Leticia’s apartment.

Though faint, it was clearly the sound of explosives detonating.

“Did a building collapse?”

Just then, her work phone rang loudly. It was an urgent message from the control room.

– Important: Dr. Cassandra Wilson, senior researcher at the Disease Control Agency, is on the run. National Military Police in pursuit. Detailed personal information not yet released to news. Monitor news closely.

“Cassandra?”

Leticia had interrogated Cassandra before.

The impression wasn’t particularly good. Dark, long hair above eerily glinting green eyes, breasts so large one might wonder how she carried them around, and those obscene, explicit statements that kept Leticia awake for days.

As part of the National Military Police, which also handled police duties, Leticia had seized illegal pornographic materials and arrested distributors on multiple occasions.

Naturally, such materials were made for “special purposes.” But none were as intense as Cassandra’s statements.

But what if she could do such things with her man… not while driving, of course, but parking the car somewhere scenic and open, with no people around. Climbing onto his lap in the driver’s seat…

Another strange tingling sensation stimulated Leticia. Like when she had unintentionally exposed her underwear to him, when she boldly walked down the road stretching her bare legs, when she provoked him in front of that arrogant female driver.

“Hmm. No. Calm down. Calm down.”

The best way to settle an excited mind was always the news. It was always irritating and chaotic, with nothing but stories that made you wonder how this world even functioned.

A “Breaking News” screen was broadcasting live. Captions at the bottom briefly explained the current situation, with the anchor adding helpful commentary.

“All gates except District 4 closed. Pursuit by motorcycle. Currently passing through District 17?”

Something didn’t connect. Out of pure curiosity, Leticia called the Special Task Force.

“Hey, Intelligence Officer? It’s me. What’s going on right now?”

– Oh, Commander! Please take the day off!

“You should have let me rest earlier. I don’t particularly want to go out. Just tell me what’s happening.”

– Cassandra staged a hostage situation at a jewelry store in the safe zone. She threatened citizens and employees with a gun, scooped up all the jewelry, and took two hostages into her car.

“She’s really crossing the line. And then?”

– It seems she wasn’t acting alone. Two more cars joined her, and they blew up part of the safe zone wall with explosives to escape through the gap, possibly to evade pursuit.

Leticia recalled the explosion she’d heard earlier. To blow up the safe zone wall would require a substantial amount of explosives. A doctor from the Disease Control Agency couldn’t obtain that much on her own. Besides the military, the only ones who would do something like this were…

“Is there any connection between Cassandra and the Liberation Army? That level of explosives and such a bold move—only the Liberation Army would do something like that.”

– I think so too, though we have no confirmation. Anyway, they’ll be caught soon. All gates except District 4 are closed, and even that one is so crowded with vehicles it’s practically a parking lot. Plus, the Commander herself is pursuing on motorcycle.

‘The Commander?’

Surprised, Leticia examined the television screen closely. So many military police motorcycles were following that it looked like a VIP escort. Among them, one bike was distinctly pushing ahead. Though the rider wore a helmet making identification difficult, Leticia was certain it was the Commander.

Her gaze naturally shifted to the vehicles ahead.

The three cars looked similar. They were pickup trucks with ridiculous power, bulletproof panels even on the wheels, reinforced glass and steel plates for bulletproofing…

Familiar vehicles.

“Hey. Have you confirmed the descriptions of the people Cassandra took hostage?”

– Ah, yes. We have witness statements. One person of unidentified gender wearing black sunglasses, a black brimmed hat, and black leather clothing, and one well-built man with black hair.

Thud.

Leticia dropped her phone. “Commander? Commander!” She tried to calm herself as she picked up the phone again. Her hands were shaking.

“S-sorry. I dropped my phone.”

– You seem very tired. Just leave this to us and rest. The Commander herself is out there, remember? She’ll definitely catch them.

“Y-yes. She should. Thank you.”

– Yes, take care!

Leticia barely managed to end the call. Her shocked mind wouldn’t calm down. A hostage situation? What was this about? And why, of all people, him?

‘Wait a minute.’

The circumstances seemed to make sense now.

Caesar had clearly said he would be “difficult to contact for a while.” When Caesar didn’t show up, the vehicle’s driver became quite irritated.

That delicate person of ambiguous gender had almost openly shown anger when Leticia flaunted her intimacy with him.

‘I was mistaken. It wasn’t simply jealousy over a man. And the Liberation Army. The Liberation Army…’

Leticia turned on her computer. She thought she knew where she had seen that woman before.

Searching for “Liberation Army propaganda” brought up countless images—examples the Elza government had posted with warnings like “Never believe these.”

Leticia downloaded one of the images. The filename was “Supermodel Camila.” She searched again using “Camila.”

The model most beloved by advertisers, an athlete who made more money from ads than from her actual profession. She had more advertisements than actual competition results. But her image was different in each ad.

“Hmph, of course a swimmer has a good body. And all this can be achieved with editing. Just another Liberation Army trash…”

Her scrolling hand suddenly stopped.

“No way.”

There was a photo of her wearing sunglasses in “that pose” in the driver’s seat. It was labeled as a B-cut collection with over ten thousand comments, all praising her. But that wasn’t important.

It was her.

Supermodel Camila, who had manipulated and deceived students and citizens. Class-1 wanted criminal Camila. The seductress who had taken countless propaganda photos, dragging countless people into the vortex of war, the devil who incited conflict.

Camila.

Faced with this unexpected revelation, Leticia became intensely cold. She remembered Caesar’s trembling eyes and tone. When he mentioned “friends who had faced life and death together,” the trembling had increased.

Excitement. Or… lies.

‘He was being threatened.’

She should never have let him go then. Leticia wanted to cry with belated regret. But not yet. She needed to stay calm.

Leticia called Caesar. As expected, he didn’t answer. Perhaps his phone had already been taken. Or he was being monitored.

But she couldn’t ignore even the faintest possibility that he might still have it. So Leticia opened a black market app and typed a message.

– Caesar. If you’re being threatened, please wave your hand through the window.

But at the last moment.

Leticia couldn’t press the send button.

If she pressed it, they would ask, “Who are you to know all this?” Perhaps Caesar himself would discover Leticia’s identity.

Her military status.

Would he still like her after knowing that? It was impossible to tell. More importantly, that wasn’t what Leticia wanted. She wanted to be just a woman standing before the man she liked, with all conditions set aside.

“…What if I just leave it to the Commander?”

While the Commander’s skills were impressive, she could be too aggressive. She was the type to do unimaginable things without batting an eye. She might overturn everything, hostages included.

If, just if, Caesar’s phone was confiscated, and they discovered Leticia’s “deviation”…

‘Would the Commander just let it go, given her personality?’

Caesar needed to be rescued. The two women with him could die for all she cared. But he couldn’t be arrested by the Commander. An average person might give up in this complex situation, but Leticia was an elite officer. Finding a way through stressful situations was her job.

“…Then I’ll rescue him myself.”

Leticia glared at Camila on the monitor.

“You’re not the only one who can disguise yourself. I can do it too.”