Chapter 191 – Solaver (3)
The interior of the aircraft carrier was like a maze. Its complexity and crampedness are the exact opposite of the majesty seen from the outside.
Is this how ants feel when they enter a model ship made of Swiss cheese?
Walk a few steps and cross the threshold as if crossing a fence, then walk a few steps again and cross the threshold.
Have you ever seen mirrors facing each other in an elevator infinitely reflecting each other? The passage here was exactly like that.
It is a structure where something can suddenly pop out from anywhere.
[Keeeeek-!]
Like right now.
Bang!
The walker who swooped down sat with the upper part of his nose disappearing. He appears to be a US military engineer wearing a maintenance uniform.
Because the space is small, only the lead robot can deal with a surprise attack.
If there weren’t maps everywhere, it would have been difficult to find the way.
It is said that it takes an average of 3 months for actual flight attendants to learn the routes of nearly 3,000 sections.
Bang!
Tatang!
The infiltrating teams fired sporadically.
Killed enemies appear as pop-ups at the bottom of the screen, but only regular walkers are still appearing.
We are dividing into several teams and going through different routes. This is a measure taken into account that the access road is narrow, and the road may have been blocked due to flooding or destruction.
[Team 1. Entered the restaurant.]
The 3rd generation Yatoo camera pierced the darkness and revealed the restaurant in disarray.
“Did the infection spread during meal times?”
There was rotten food everywhere. Some trays are growing moldy towers nearly 30 cm tall.
And dried blood could be found everywhere.
[There are no signs of engagement.]
There are no bullet marks visible anywhere. It seems that the poor soldiers were hit while they were eating and their bones and flesh were separated.
Boom!
When a loud noise came from the kitchen, all guns were pointed in that direction.
The dark ship’s blood-soaked restaurant was an incredibly gloomy setting, but it wasn’t scary.
I felt reassured because on one side of the robot’s screen was a large gun that could kill a dinosaur.
Thud! Boom!
As I crossed the serving table and entered the kitchen, I heard a louder sound as if I was hitting an iron plate.
[Found.]
A large stainless steel dish cabinet shakes violently. Someone was struggling inside.
While the two robots were aiming their guns, one robot grabbed the door, opened it, and fell to the side.
The thing that tumbled from inside with a loud noise was a walker wearing a cooking uniform.
The muzzle of the gun stopped in front of the forehead of the guy who struggled to raise his head from the ground.
[Kiss…]
Before I could even scream, a hole appeared, and I fell down.
“Open everything.”
[Roger.]
The robot sequentially opened the dish storage box next to it.
It was all empty, but the last one contained a white bone. Teeth and skeleton belong to humans.
[There are no visible injuries on clothing or skeleton.]
Artemis said.
“Two soldiers went into hiding, but one was already infected and mutated, and the other stayed until he starved to death?”
[Maybe. In the midst of starvation, I would have had to keep listening to the cries of my fellow monster.]
“It must have been terrible.”
The remains were crouched, clutching their stomachs with both hands, and their heads were facing inward. As if the fear of going outside is more painful than the pain of a hungry stomach.
The cook’s name tag caught my eye. Artemis noticed my gaze and enlarged the screen.
“Private Norman.”
It’s not something you see a soldier die once or twice, but for some reason, it’s even more bitter when a private dies.
All teams pushed forward to the death.
Resistance is at a weak level. Since it is still in the upper layer, the density of infectious agents appears to be low.
[Team 2. We entered the post office. The fire door is closed and welded on the inside. Disband and move forward.]
It seems that the flight attendants did not take it lightly either.
[Team 3. We entered the medical building. The passage is blocked, but it is manageable.]
The passage shown on Team 3’s screen is blocked by pipes, cabinets, and other debris that poured down from the collapsed upper floor.
[It looks like there was an explosion and the contents of the upper floor came pouring out.]
Artemis said.
“They might have set off the explosion for that reason. “Enlarge that.”
He pointed to a few pieces of metal placed in the corner of the passage.
[Why is that? Ah…]
The moment Artemis zoomed in, she moaned as if she realized something.
“It’s a grenade pin. Let’s see, one, two, three…”
[Total 4.]
Artemis displayed everything on the screen.
“They fixed several of them on the floor just below the warehouse and then pulled out the pins and popped them. “We put up barricades on the spot.”
[Isn’t it too much of a gamble? What if it doesn’t block properly and the grenade is wasted?]
“It must have been that urgent. Grenade is a difficult weapon to use against infectious agents that attack like mad dogs whenever they are seen in such a small space. A pistol would be better. Let’s quickly clear a path.”
Hercules robot was deployed.
A mass of muscle so massive that it dwarfs Stalker. Mecha Hulk, a little less than 3 meters tall, stood in front of the collapsed structure.
When I pulled on a steel pipe the size of an adult’s body with a hand like a pot lid, it was pulled out without any resistance.
With each movement of the arm, an obstacle that could have weighed hundreds of kilograms was removed, revealing the other side of the passageway.
“It’s definitely cleaner than using explosives, and it’s faster than cutting each piece with a welding tool.”
[Because the old-fashioned method works well.]
“It’s a strange metaphor.”
[What.]
By the time our talk was over, two truckloads of obstacles had been cleared away.
Did you come here after hearing that noise? At the end of the open hallway, four walkers dressed as mechanics come running.
[Kiss-…]
Whoa!
A tremendous impact that drowns out even the cries of walkers.
Whoa!!
The fire extinguisher flew in a straight line, ignoring gravity. The walker’s head exploded, drawing a trajectory almost like a red laser.
At the starting point was a Hercules robot in a posture as if it had shot a shot put.
He then charged as if playing American football and body-butted the guy in front.
Kwaang!
I felt like I was seeing an elk hit by a dump truck. Like the fire extinguisher from before, the walker flew in a straight line and bounced off the cushion several times on the wall and ceiling, landing about 20 meters away.
[Kkiyi…]
The walker’s voice that was about to scream subsided, and his running steps also stopped.
Then I looked at the flying walker and the Hercules robot alternately.
“…”
I am equally embarrassed by this scene.
This is because it is the first time I have seen Walker, who does not lose his killing instinct under any circumstances, stop charging with such a confused(?) Appearance.
“Are they perhaps worried about whether they are of their own race? For example, Juggernaut. There may be parts similar to the biological tissue of the infectious agent, and they can smell like their own species.”
[What nonsense.]
Artemis dismissed it as a joke, but couldn’t come up with a better reasoning.
[It would be a good time to collect actual data.]
Hercules rushed forward with both fists clenched.
Boom!
“What kind of fist is making the sound of a gun being fired?”
A fist the size of a bowling ball was not a punch but closer to a cannonball.
It struck him in the jaw, ripped off his neck, and sent his head crashing into the ceiling. Blood sprays everywhere like a water balloon bursting.
Quang!
A low kick like a telephone pole exploded at the bottom of another walker.
It felt like watching the bottom of a video fighting game hit.
He floated in place, spun sideways about two times, and then fell head first to the ground.
A dark shadow fell over the head of the guy who was struggling to get up.
Kwasik!
When the robot’s bear-like paw struck down, its head was shattered like a watermelon hit by an elephant gun.
Boom!
A fist was driven into the chest of the last remaining walker.
He was not pierced, but he was thrown into the wall with all of his ribs crushed.
His head was safe and there was no damage anywhere, but he couldn’t wake up.
[Kurururuk…]
The shattered bone fragments appear to have torn apart the lungs and heart. He struggled and collapsed, gurgling blood and pus from his mouth and nose.
For a moment, there was the sound of windy breathing and boiling blood, but it quickly quieted down.
It really feels like watching a mini juggernaut who has learned martial arts.
“Is this something I can seriously use in real life? “It will be very effective in environments where firearms cannot be used.”
The Hercules robot, which uses close combat, caused little collateral damage in the battle space.
“He will do well in his role as an engineer. As for the battery issue, we can work with the support unit and coordinate the deployment time.”
[Maybe.]
For Artemis, who had a low opinion of the practicality of the Hercules robot, it seemed like it hurt her pride to admit it quietly.
But there is nothing to be ashamed of.
Basically, you have to roll it yourself to know the effect on the battlefield.
Even the smart and combat-hardened U.S. Military experiences countless trial and error and deviations from expectations when introducing new weapons or tactics.
[Entry to the post office completed.]
Two teams broke through the tightly welded blockade and entered the interior.
[There are signs of combat inside. It appears that there was an intrusion from a direction other than the welded area. We keep moving forward.]
Most teams passed the upper layer and reached the middle zone, and the frequency of battles began to increase proportionally.
They were going deeper into the infected den, and those who were hibernating gradually became aware of the presence of the intruder.
Splat.
When the lead robot went down the stairs and stepped on the floor, a different sound rang out than before.
Kang! This sound is not the sound of metal screeching, but rather like stepping on the internal organs.
Chunks of reddish-colored meat are scattered throughout the darkness that fills the field with vision.
“From now on.”
This is the six-wall seen during the past shelter restoration operation and the Bloodpack underground laboratory. A unique phenomenon that occurs in places where infection is highly concentrated.
And from here, bodies started pouring out in earnest.
There were at least 20 corpses scattered in the hallway, but there was one unusual thing.
“It’s preserved, right?”
Up to the upper floor, the corpse had almost rotted away, leaving only bones, but here, the flesh was attached to the level of a mummy.
[The composition of the atmosphere is different from outside. Substances emitted by organic tissues scattered around appear to slow down decay.]
Poop!
Even as they advanced, the robots steadily carried out confirmed kills. This is because there are those that hibernate or pretend to be dead and then attack.
Kwasik!
Sigh!
Kwasik!
In particular, the Hercules robot demonstrated tremendous capabilities.
Holding the iron pipe in both hands, he cut off all the heads in front of him as if he were playing whack-a-mole. There is no waste of bullets and the speed is fast.
[Kkieee…]
There were some who struggled to get up as if they thought they couldn’t do it, but they were all skewered without even being able to get up.
[Team 3. Arrived at the armory.]
The screen sent by Team 3 was full of traces of intense battle.
There were bullet holes everywhere you could see, and the floor was soaked with water as if a fire hydrant had exploded.
Every time the robots walk, ripples occur, and countless sunken shell casings shake.
There were soldiers everywhere who died while fighting in military uniforms, sweats, repair uniforms, and even underwear, and the number of infected bodies was several times that number.
[I don’t think I was able to issue weapons to the crew.]
Artemis said sadly.
[This is a surveillance camera video.]
A video was played in the center of the screen.
The first ones to appear were soldiers urgently taking out weapons from the armory
Although the lighting inside the ship was dark, their faces were clearly illuminated every time the bright red warning light flashed, indicating an emergency situation.
Everyone’s face is distorted in extreme fear and despair, but their actions are quick.
The soldiers were opening gun cases, taking out weapons, and assembling magazines based on memories from hundreds of times of repeated training, not based on reason.
Not reason, but survival instinct. Those primal instincts and the routine training that used to be a nuisance were now saving their lives.
[Quaaaaagh!]
[Kyarrrr-!]
As the screams and cries that had been heard in the distance got closer, their hands began to tremble, and some even dropped their magazines, causing bullets to rain down.
But no one criticized it.
Soldiers joined in one after another, making a loud noise.
The soldiers seen above, dressed in sweats and underwear, as if they had jumped out of their sleep, hurriedly handed over their weapons.
And the next moment, monsters rushed into the camera like a flood.
[Open fire!!!]
A gunfight began with someone shouting.
The pistols, submachine guns, and service rifles in each person’s hands burst into flames.
But that resistance did not last long.
The soldiers who joined in hastily only had one or two magazines, and were brutally slaughtered the moment their guns went out.
The soldiers in the armory held out a little longer by exchanging magazines, but eventually they were pulled out one by one and torn to death.
When the soldier who resisted to the end died, the movements of the infected entities stopped for a moment. The calm after the massacre had arrived.
The one who broke it was a late soldier.
Kudang!
One soldier who joined late, unaware of the situation in the armory, stepped on a pool of blood and fell.
Dozens of burning eyes of hatred poured down on him at once.
[Wow!]
He struggled on the floor and tried to get up, but his legs seemed to have lost their strength.
Even if you desperately look around, there are no comrades willing to fight alongside you. No matter where you look, there are only corpses with empty eyes.
[Keeeeek-!]
The escape route has already been blocked by a newly appeared monster.
[Profit!]
He picked up the pistol next to him and fired at the monster.
Slam!
But it’s an empty gun.
I threw away the pistol and picked up the rifle.
Someone’s severed hand was stuck on the trigger, so I roughly removed it and pulled the trigger.
Slam!
But this is also an empty gun.
[Aaaaah!]
He hysterically picked up all the weapons lying around, but all of them were empty guns.
The monsters quietly approach him. Like a flock of bald eagles surrounding a dying impala.
That’s all for the video.
“…”
[I will keep moving forward.]
The robots moved forward while maintaining vigilance.
As a result of analyzing the data obtained from the Brain and Nerve Research Institute, the presumed location of the senior alien is a confidential area between the middle and lower layers.
There isn’t much left to get there.
